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Fisher couldn't say 'no' to Garcia
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_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.
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_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.
