Jeff Garcia is Now Part of the Rams Staff

Good. Everything I’ve read about Garcia
has suggested he’s dynamic and intelligent.

I assume he can help Mannion learn the game.

w
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wv wrote:

I assume he can help Mannion learn the game.

w
v

I sincerely doubt they have him doing any qb coaching. No one is going to have 2 qb coaches–you would think they would just get in each others’s way. Plus of course if they did have TWO qb coaches one would quite simply have to take orders from the other, and why would Garcia take that job?

My bet is that Garcia does some film stuff, quality control stuff, brainstorming input stuff, maybe “as needed” drill work stuff, that kind of thing. IMO you don’t get a qb up to snuff by giving him mixed messages, and on the other hand you don’t hire a guy like Garcia to just make himself into the qb coach’s bot.

Ex-49ers QB Garcia joins Rams coaching staff

By Matt Maiocco

http://www.csnbayarea.com/49ers/ex-49ers-qb-garcia-joins-rams-coaching-staff

Former 49ers quarterback Jeff Garcia is returning to the NFC West.

The St. Louis Rams hired the Gilroy native to the position of offensive assistant, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported late Tuesday.

Garcia interviewed with Rams coach Jeff Fisher in February for the opening at quarterbacks coach. Fisher hired 2000 Heisman Trophy winner Chris Weinke, the former director at IMG Academy, where he has worked with Russell Wilson, Cam Newton, Ryan Tannehill and others, Fisher said.

But Fisher said at the NFL scouting combine he was equally impressed by Garcia – so much that the Rams created a coaching position for Garcia three months later.

“It was almost as if he was getting ready to go out and play a game,” Fisher said in February. “He’s just that guy. He’s so competitive. Throughout his career, people said he couldn’t do what he did. He takes great care of himself. He’s passionate about the game. He loves the game. His dad was a coach. It’s in him.

“He understands the system, the West Coast system and how it’s morphed. He’s familiar with it. He understands how difficult it is to see. Back there, taking snaps, it’s hard to see. But he also understands the game and preparation and loves competing.”

Garcia earned selections to the Pro Bowl four times in his 10-year NFL career, including three consecutive seasons while with the 49ers. He still holds the 49ers single-season record with 4,278 passing yards in 2000. He was undrafted out of San Jose State and did not get his first NFL opportunity until Bill Walsh gave him a chance with the 49ers after five seasons in the Canadian Football League.

Garcia, 45, has worked with high school, college and such professional quarterbacks as Mark Sanchez, Tyrod Taylor and Matt McGloin in San Diego in recent years. He spent several months last season as quarterbacks coach of the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL.

Although interested in joining the staff of new 49ers coach Jim Tomsula, Garcia was not granted an interview for any coaching position with his former team.

In December, Garcia told CSNBayArea.com he would like to work with Colin Kaepernick, who chose instead to spend 10 weeks in Arizona mostly with quarterbacks coach Dennis Gile with weekly visits from Kurt Warner. Garcia said his goal was to transition from an independent instructor into a position with an NFL team and, ultimately, become a head coach.

Herzog wrote:

But we don’t run that system….so not seeing the relevance there.

Not clear what you;re responding to there, H.

wv wrote:

zn wrote:

Herzog wrote:

But we don’t run that system….so not seeing the relevance there.

Not clear what you;re responding to there, H.

West Coast Offense.

w
v

Yeah Garcia gets to learn him a new system.

Too bad there’s no one around from the 99 team.

“Hey Jeff…remember the Oct. 10th game from that year? Weren’t you intercepted like, 3 times? Anyway. Our current system is based on the Rams system from that year.”

St. Louis Rams Add Jeff Garcia to Coaching Staff

by Patrick Karraker

http://archauthority.com/2015/05/20/st-louis-rams-add-jeff-garcia-to-coaching-staff/?utm_source=FanSided&utm_medium=Network&utm_campaign=Around%20the%20Network

The St. Louis Rams have reportedly decided to make a late addition to their 2015 coaching staff, as the St. Louis Post-Dispatch‘s Jim Thomas reported late Wednesday that the team is hiring former NFL quarterback Jeff Garcia as an offensive assistant.

The 45-year-old Garcia, who played 11 seasons for five teams, interviewed for the Rams’ quarterbacks coach job in February but was passed over in favor of another former NFL QB, Chris Weinke. Garcia has been working as the quarterbacks coach for the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL while also acting as a private quarterbacks coach for players such as Mark Sanchez.

It’s probable that Garcia will work in a de facto “assistant quarterbacks coach” role. Though this position has not historically been common in the NFL, it’s grown in popularity in recent years, and the Seattle Seahawks, Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins employ coaches with the official title of assistant quarterbacks coach. Numerous others employ one with the ambiguous title of “offensive assistant”, which Garcia will have with the Rams.

Though it’s important to avoid having too many voices confusing the players, it could be a major plus for the Rams to have as many hands on deck as possible at the quarterback position this year. With Weinke coaching quarterbacks for the first time at the NFL level, tasked with the responsibilities of helping newly-acquired Nick Foles learn the offense, helping rookie Sean Mannion adjust to the NFL, and continuing to work with two younger signal-callers, Austin Davis and Case Keenum, who will be competing for a backup job, the Rams may need all the help they can get. Garcia, who actually has a bit more pro coaching experience than Weinke with his CFL stint, should be a positive addition because he can provide an extra pair of eyes and an experienced voice on the practice field.

Fisher couldn’t say ‘no’ to Garcia

By Jim Thomas

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/fisher-couldn-t-say-no-to-garcia/article_f74e2cbc-072d-5842-91f4-bc2824b3a37a.html

When he interviewed Jeff Garcia for the Rams’ quarterbacks coach job in February, coach Jeff Fisher came away impressed. So impressed, in fact, that for a while it looked like Garcia would get the job.

Always the competitor, Garcia didn’t take the news well when Fisher hired Chris Weinke instead.

“It was like the wind was let out of my sail,” Garcia recalled.

That same day, Garcia left a message for Fisher, thanking him for the opportunity while making it clear he remained interested in joining the Rams’ staff in any capacity.

“He got back to me later that day and just said, ‘Hey, I was extremely impressed by you and I want you on my staff,’ “ Garcia said.

Turns out that wasn’t just lip service. Three months later, Garcia has been hired as an offensive assistant by the Rams. Garcia accepted the job in late May (the week of the NFL owners meetings in San Francisco), and the Rams formally announced the hiring earlier this week.

As a player, Garcia was MVP in the Canadian Football League for the Calgary Stampeders, and went on to earn four Pro Bowl berths in the NFL at quarterback. But with the Rams he will help wide receivers coach Ray Sherman with that unit.

“When I was done (interviewing) Jeff, I just felt like he’s got some special qualities and characteristics,” Fisher said. “Kind of one of those guys you want on your staff.”

It took a while to make that happen, but Fisher likes what Garcia can add to the wide receiver room.

“He gives a different perspective,” Fisher said. “He gives that quarterback perspective to the receivers, which I think is helpful.”

Garcia and Fisher have no prior history, other than the fact that Garcia played against some of Fisher’s Tennessee Titans teams over the years. That’s worth noting because coaching jobs often go to buddies in the NFL.

“Coaches that I played for are still coaching,” said Garcia, whose 12-year NFL playing career included five seasons with San Francisco as well as stints with Cleveland, Detroit, Philadelphia, Tampa Bay and Houston. “When I started to pursue a (coaching) opportunity in the NFL, I thought it may come through the relationships that I had.”

Didn’t happen that way, however.

“The great thing about Jeff (Fisher) is he saw value in what I brought as a former player,” Garcia said. “Maybe part of it was my background — how I had to scratch and claw my way into the league, battle and fight for everything. And just the type of player that I was out there on the field.”

The feisty Garcia was as competitive as they come as a player. In terms of approach, he was a grinder — a gridiron version of a gym rat. Beyond the X’s and O’s, if some of those qualities rub off on the Rams’ wideouts, the team will be better off for it.

And he’s from a coaching family. It’s in his blood. His father, Bob Garcia, coached him in junior college at Gavilan College in his hometown of Gilroy, Calif.

Once his playing career ended, Garcia opened Jeff Garcia Football in San Diego, where he trained quarterbacks from the junior high level up. Among the NFL quarterbacks he tutored there were Mark Sanchez, Matt McGloin and Tyrod Taylor.

But at the end of the day, he missed the preparation for a game. His one-year stint with the CFL’s Montreal Alouettes last season, first as a consultant and then as quarterbacks coach, only whetted his appetite to get into coaching.

“This is where I need to be,” Garcia said. “This is where I feel I can have a tremendous impact. I can still mentor and direct and guide and inspire young people to reach above and beyond what they ever thought they could do themselves, and bring out more.”

Garcia thinks his quarterback background will help a still-young Rams wide receivers group grasp the big picture.

“Understanding what the mindset is of a quarterback, and what he’s thinking about a given concept,” Garcia said. “How so many of the technical, fundamental things about the game are so important in order to create great timing.”

But the Rams also plan to tap into Garcia’s vast experience playing quarterback. Toward that end, new offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti has involved Garcia in the meeting room with Weinke in discussions and film review.

“Being able to talk about, not just receivers but quarterbacks, and the fundamentals of playing the position,” Garcia said. “Where their eyes, where their thoughts, where their progressions should be in creating success on the field.”

Even so, Garcia made it clear that the last thing he wants to do is step on Weinke’s toes when it comes to the quarterback position.

So he’s getting to know the wideouts, and vice versa. With a slight grin, Garcia says the wide receivers have “a little bit” of an understanding about who he was as a player.

“I know they were young when I was playing,” he added. “A couple of the defensive players asked if I could sign a ball for them. They remember what I was all about.”

Despite his NFL success, Garcia was only 1-7 as a San Francisco starter against the Rams. Then again, all of those starts came from 1999 through 2003, the period encompassing the Rams’ greatest success in St. Louis as the Greatest Show on Turf.

Now, he finds himself on the other side of the rivalry.

“I grew up in the Bay Area, so I was a big Niners fan,” Garcia said.

But that was then. Now he’s wears a blue and gold Rams cap at work.

“Hey, this is my new favorite team,” he said.