Shawn Bell - Football Coach - University of Houston Athletics

Shawn Bell

Title:
Quarterbacks/Passing Game Coordinator

Shawn Bell
Hometown	China Spring, Texas
College	Baylor '06; Baylor '07
Family	Wife: Hali Children: Cannon, Braxton & Saydi
COACHING EXPERIENCE
Year	School, Position
2024 -	Houston, Quarterbacks/Passing Coordinator
2021-23	Baylor, Quarterbacks
2020	Baylor, Tight Ends
2018-19	Baylor, Offensive Line
2017	Baylor, Analyst
2016	Cedar Ridge High School, Head Coach
2010-15	Magnolia West High School, Head Coach
2009	Clifton High School, Head Coach
2008	China Spring High School, Assistant Coach
2007	Stony Point High School, Wide Receivers
BOWL EXPERIENCE
Year	Bowl, School
2022	Armed Forces Bowl, Baylor
2021	Sugar Bowl, Baylor
2020	Sugar Bowl, Baylor
2018	Texas Bowl, Baylor

Coach Shawn Bell on X, formerly Twitter

• Shawn Bell joined University of Houston Football as its Quarterbacks Coach/Passing Coordinator in January 2024. The 2025 season will be his second with the Cougars following seven seasons at Baylor.

• During his first season with the Cougars, Bell tutored sophomore quarterback Zeon Chriss who finished the season as one of eight Power Four underclassmen QBs with 750+ passing yards and 350+ rushing yards. Chriss's 63.8 completion % ranked 10^th among Power Four underclassmen QBs (min. 100 attempts) while on the ground, his 35 missed tackled forced rushing ranked fifth among Power Four QBs.

• Combined with efforts from senior quarterback Donovan Smith, Houston ranked third in the Big 12 Conference and 29th nationally in completion percentage (65.0%).

• Chriss, whose 1,212 yards of total offense ranked 21^st among Power Four underclassmen QBs, finished 11 of 11 passing while leading the Cougars to their highest ranked win in seven seasons with a 24-19 victory over #17/15 Kansas State on Nov. 2. Chriss became the 23rd FBS quarterback since 1996 to complete all passes in a game (min. 10 attempts) and first Houston quarterback to accomplish the feat.

• Bell, a former Baylor standout signal caller started as an analyst with the Bears in 2017, was elevated to offensive line coach in March 2018. He moved to tight ends under new head coach Dave Aranda for the 2020 season and was named quarterbacks coach in January 2021. The Dave Campbell's Texas Football 40 Under 40 honoree (June 2021) spent the 2021-23 seasons as Quarterbacks Coach.

• Bell helped tutor quarterback Blake Shapen who started 23 games across three seasons. Shapen’s 5,574 career passing yards and 36 passing touchdowns each rank seventh in school history – one spot behind Bell – in Baylor career history. Shapen complete 63.7% of his passes, ranking third in program history. His 479 career completions rank fifth in Baylor history.

• In 2022, Bell broke in a new starting quarterback for the second consecutive year leading the unit, helping Blake Shapen develop into an offensive weapon. Shapen threw for the ninth-most yards in Baylor single-season history, completing 63.3 percent of his passes, the fifth-best total in school annals. He ranks second in Baylor career history by completing 65 percent of his pass attempts. Shapen threw for 18 TDs and sported a 137.7 passing efficiency mark on the year. His 345-yard outing vs. No. 7 Oklahoma State marked the 50th most pass yards in a single game.

• During his first season at the helm of the quarterback room in 2021, Bell helped Gerry Bohanon finish the season with 27 total touchdowns, which tied for the second-most in the Big 12 and earned him a spot on the All-Big 12 Honorable Mention team. Bohanon was also named a semifinalist for the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award.

• After Bohanon went down with a hamstring injury, Bell helped Shapen, then a redshirt freshman, guide the team to a pair of wins in Bohanon’s absence, including the Big 12 Championship game. Against Oklahoma State, Shapen went 23-for-28 for 180 yards and 3 touchdowns, including a Big 12 Championship and AT&T Stadium college record 17-straight completions in the first half. Shapen was named the Big 12 Championship’s Most Outstanding Performer.

• With Bell serving as the tight ends coach in 2020, Ben Sims recorded the most touchdowns by a Baylor tight end since 2007. Sims finished the season with 14 receptions for 164 yards and three touchdowns in only six games.

• The former record-setting Baylor quarterback returned to his alma mater following 10 seasons on the sidelines at the high school level, the last eight as head coach at Cedar Ridge, Magnolia West and Clifton.

• Bell spent the 2016 season at Cedar Ridge High School in Round Rock, Texas, where he was named District 13-6A Coach of the Year after leading the Raiders to an 11-1 mark and the school’s first-ever district championship.

• From 2010 to 2015, Bell was head coach at Magnolia West High School in Magnolia, Texas. He led the Mustangs to the postseason every year and compiled a six-year record of 44-27.

• His first head coaching stint was in 2009 at Clifton (Texas) High School. In 2008, Bell worked under his father, central Texas coaching icon and long-time China Spring head coach Mark Bell, on the CSHS staff. He began his coaching career in 2007 working with the wide receivers at Stony Point High School in Round Rock.

• Bell rewrote the passing records during his time as Baylor’s quarterback from 2003-06, owning 28 school records at the conclusion of his career. His 5,666 career yards and 38 career TDs currently stand as the fifth most all-time.

• He was a 2006 All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection as a senior. Bell’s legacy includes an unforgettable Baylor highlight when he threw consecutive completions to Dominique Zeigler for a touchdown and game-winning 2-point conversion in overtime to defeat No. 16 Texas A&M, 35-34, in 2004 in only his third career start.

• Bell also was a 2006 NFF National Honor Society selection, two-time Baylor Dean’s list recipient, two-time first-team Academic All-Big 12 honoree and eight-time member of the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll. He graduated in May 2006 with a degree in education and earned a master’s degree in sports management in 2007.

• A native of nearby China Spring, Bell was an all-state QB under his father at China Spring High School and finished his prep career ranked third all-time in Texas history with 8,437 passing yards.

• He and his wife Hali are the parents of two sons, Cannon and Braxton, and a daughter, Saydi. Shawn’s brother, Brian, serves as an offensive assistant for the Cougars.