Brian Griese now 49ers QB coach after years in broadcasting
SAN FRANCISCO (BVM) – Brian Griese is a name that is easily recognizable to NFL football fans in the 21st century. Not only was he the son of a league legend, but he played 11 NFL seasons as a quarterback for four different franchises, making him a familiar face. That wasn’t all though as after his playing career, Griese went into the broadcast booth where he helped explain the game to fans watching at home and did that for over a decade as well.
Now, Griese has made his return not only to the NFL but to NFL sidelines as he was hired as the quarterbacks coach for the San Francisco 49ers during the offseason. While his life journey is surrounded by football even from the day he was born, Griese has shown he is more than just a football player or an analyst, he is truly a one-of-a-kind football mind.
Early life and high school football
From early in his life, it seemed that Griese didn’t have much choice in the idea of him playing football. The son of Pro Football Hall of Famer and Miami Dolphins legendary quarterback Bob Griese, Brian and his two older brothers were all athletics all the time, playing football in the fall, basketball in the winter and baseball in the spring.
Like his father before him, Griese was a quarterback and led his Christopher Columbus High School football team. Griese excelled on the field, earning offers to Kentucky and Purdue, his dad’s alma mater. But the signal-caller had his sights set on bigger fish and decided to join the powerhouse University of Michigan as a walk-on. He is a member of the Christopher Columbus High hall of fame.
Michigan Wolverines
Being a walk-on, it took some time for Griese to see the field. Griese first saw action as a redshirt sophomore, but split time with Scott Dreisbach as both a sophomore and junior, throwing for 1,621 yards, 13 touchdowns and 10 interceptions over 22 games.
However, Griese finally got his chance to be the full-time starter as a senior in 1997 and made the most of it. The quarterback would go on to be named a first–team All-Big Ten selection, leading Michigan in passing (2,293) and total offense (2,313) in 1997. He led the Wolverines to a perfect 12-0 season that year, culminating in a 21-16 Rose Bowl victory over Washington State to win the school’s first national championship since 1948. The signal-caller was named the game’s MVP after he threw for 251 yards and all three of the team’s touchdowns. In 2012, he was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame.
Griese ended his Michigan career completing 355-of-606 passes for 4,383 yards and 33 touchdowns. Though he may be best known for leading the Wolverines to their historic title, in recent years he is also known as the first mentor to another legendary Michigan quarterback–Tom Brady.
Never a doubt in my mind you would go on to be the best to ever do it! 😂 Most proud that no matter the height of success you achieved, you never changed who you are at the core! Credit to the entire Brady family. Cheers to you @TomBrady Can’t wait to see what’s next! pic.twitter.com/8GVxehzgry
— Brian Griese (@briangriese) February 1, 2022
NFL career
Though a national champion and the son of a Hall of Famer, Griese wasn’t seen as a slam dunk franchise quarterback when he came out in the 1998 NFL Draft. Instead, Griese had to wait to hear his name called until the third round, pick No. 91 overall, when the Denver Broncos selected him. In 1998, despite only playing in one game, Griese made history as his Broncos won Super Bowl XXXIII making him and his father the first ever father-son quarterback duo to win the Super Bowl.
After John Elway’s retirement following the 1998 season, Griese took over the Broncos during his second year. In 2000, he’d have his best season starting 10 games and throwing for 2,688 yards, 19 touchdowns, four interceptions and leading the league with a 102.9 passer rating to earn his first and only Pro Bowl selection.
Unfortunately, injuries and inconsistency doomed Griese’s time in Denver as he finished his Broncos career after the 2002 season playing five seasons and going 27-24 with 11,673 passing yards, 71 touchdowns and 53 interceptions.
Griese then joined his dad’s former team, the Miami Dolphins, but injuries limited him to just five games in 2003. Signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the following offseason, Griese played two seasons in Tampa starting 16 games and even leading the league in completion percentage in 2004.
Following the 2005 season, Griese joined the Chicago Bears for the 2006 season and served as a backup in both 2006 and 2007 before reuniting with the Buccaneers in 2008, once again as a backup. The quarterback retired after the 2008 season, finishing his career with a 45-38 record, 19,440 passing yards, 119 touchdowns and 99 interceptions.
Broadcasting
After his playing days, Griese quickly followed in his father’s footsteps again, this time joining the College Football broadcasting team at ESPN. Griese remained a staple to the ABC/ESPN college football Saturdays lineup for the next decade, usually being partnered with studio host Steve Levy.
In 2020, both Griese and Levy were moved to ESPN’s Monday Night Football booth along with fellow ESPN analyst Louis Riddick. The trio would work both the 2020 and 2021 seasons together.
Honored to be a part of this amazing team and thankful for ALL the hard work & sacrifice of these individuals on the road for 22 consecutive weeks! https://t.co/VrrCLQ2P1k
— Brian Griese (@briangriese) January 19, 2022
San Francisco 49ers
In March 2022, the San Francisco 49ers announced they hired Brian Griese as the team’s new quarterbacks coach. Though it may have come as a surprise to some for the former player to join the staff, Griese is far from the only mid-2000s quarterback to be coaching in the league as Mark Brunell and Byron Leftwich are among those players to have found success on the sidelines in recent years. Further still, both Griese and 49ers head coach Kyle Shannahan have worked before when Griese was a quarterback in Tampa Bay in 2008 while Shannahan was an offensive analyst.
While it remains to be seen whether Griese will be a strong quarterbacks coach, he will get a chance to prove as much right away. With the 49ers looking to hand the quarterback reins to last year’s first-round pick Trey Lance, Griese will be charged with helping the young player make the jump as a sophomore. With both his own experience in the NFL and knowledge of the game of football, Griese certainly seems like a good choice on paper, but time will tell just how well this first-time coach does.
