Shealy was born in Nashville, Tennessee in 1961, the son of football coach Dal Shealy. He attended Auburn High School in Auburn, Alabama, playing quarterback for the Auburn High Tigers before playing for Liberty Baptist College, now Liberty University, in 1979. After a year at Liberty, Shealy transferred to the University of Richmond, from where he graduated in 1984. Shealy immediately entered the coaching profession as a graduate assistant at Baylor University—receiving a master's degree from that institution in 1986—before being appointed secondary coach at Mars Hill College in 1986. Shealy became offensive coordinator at Austin Peay State University from 1988 to 1990, when he briefly left the coaching ranks. He returned to Mars Hill as offensive coordinator in 1992, and in 1993 left aga