There's a little bit of truth to every joke. Matt Hasselbeck admits it. Could he have coached the 2015 Indianapolis Colts instead of standing guard as the team's backup quarterback? "Real quick," he said, laughing. "Make a few minor changes, a couple tweaks."
But, given that Colts starting quarterback Andrew Luck hasn't missed a start in three seasons, couldn't Hasselbeck, a 17-year veteran, be considered something in the vicinity of a coach -- perhaps an assistant? "I feel like Pete Rose -- a player-coach," Hasselbeck said. "I know I've got some things I've seen that work well."
Hasselbeck has played for seven head coaches in his NFL career. He's been in the league long enough to see men rise from position coaches to head coaches, like Kansas City's Andy Reid, Green Bay's Mike McCarthy and Atlanta's Dan Quinn. And Hasselbeck has former teammates who are now climbing the NFL coaching ladder, like Seattle defensive coordinator Kris Richard, a third-round Seahawks draft pick in 2002 when Hasselbeck was the starting quarterback. Hasselbeck has seen what works well for head coaches and what doesn't. He also understands why more players don't get into coaching after their playing careers are over.
"It's this weird phenomenon: There are very, very few Hall of Fame players, perennial Pro Bowlers that make great head coaches," Hasselbeck said. "Is that a weird statement? It's not a slight on anybody; it's just sort of -- when you think of some of the greatest head coaches of all time, they weren't Hall of Fame players but Hall of Fame coaches."
According to ESPN Stats & Information, since 2000 there have been 117 head coaches in the NFL, but only 25.6 percent of them were players in the league before they became coaches. Only eight current coaches played, and they weren't all exactly piling up reps. Denver's Gary Kubiak and Dallas' Jason Garrett were career backup quarterbacks for the teams they now coach. Like Carolina's Ron Rivera, Oakland's Jack Del Rio and St. Louis' Jeff Fisher, first-year New York Jets coach Todd Bowles played defense in the NFL. New Orleans' Sean Payton was a replacement player during the 1987 strike.
"I use Trent Dilfer as an example," Hasselbeck continued. "He wasn't the player Joe Montana was, but if I was to train a quarterback, I'd probably ask Trent Dilfer. He's been on the up and the down side of it. He's seen it all. He worked at it, studied it. Joe Montana is one of the greatest players of all time, but he didn't have the lows most quarterbacks had to go through. ... Mike McCarthy wasn't a great quarterback, but he's a great quarterback teacher, coach and playcaller. I kind of see it that way."
"According to ESPN Stats & Information, since 2000 there have been 117 head coaches in the NFL, but only 25.6 percent of them were players in the league before they became coaches."
Not all current players are excited by the thought. And many don't need it. The money players make now is significantly more than in days gone by, so coaching as a source of income often isn't a necessity. Then there's the time commitment. A coach's day is significantly longer than a player's, which during the season typically starts by 8 a.m. and ends before 6 p.m.
"I'd love to coach," former Eagles running back Brian Westbrook said. "Maybe if the day ended at 1 o'clock." Entry-level coaching jobs typically are quality-control positions, which require breaking down countless hours of film at all times of day. Climbing the coaching ladder takes patience and requires the flexibility to move from city to city, which is not appealing to a lot of players who spent their 20s and early 30s doing just that.
Nevertheless, what players, current and recently retired, might make viable head coaching candidates in the future? The numbers say there could be dozens, obviously. But in speaking to folks around the league, here are five who fit the mold, whether they're currently interested or not.
Jeff Garcia
While he was still bouncing from team to team, city to city, during his peripatetic playing career, Garcia promised his wife, Carmella DeCesare, that he would never, ever become an NFL coach. He knew the time involved and toll it can take on young families. But last year, Garcia got a call from Jim Popp, the general manager of the Canadian Football League's Montreal Alouettes. Popp asked Garcia if he would be a week-to-week consultant for the team, which was struggling early in its season. After Garcia's first week in Montreal, head coach Tom Higgins fired a couple of assistants and asked Garcia if he would become the quarterbacks coach. The Alouettes were 1-5 when Garcia took over. He immediately changed starting quarterbacks. After two more losses, Garcia changed again. Montreal finished the season by winning eight of its final 10 regular-season games and then got within one game of the Grey Cup, the CFL's version of the Super Bowl.
"That solidified the fact this is where I need to be. I need to be coaching on the team level," said Garcia, who before going to Montreal was working with quarterbacks near his home in San Diego. "As much as I enjoyed the private instruction, I didn't get the end-of-the-week result of competing in the game. That was an important ingredient for me as a person."
After the NFL season, Garcia reached out to coaches in the league he knew and respected. Earlier this year, he interviewed with St. Louis coach Jeff Fisher to discuss becoming the Rams quarterbacks coach, a job that eventually went to Chris Weinke. He recently joined Fisher's staff as an offensive assistant, primarily working with Rams wide receivers coach Ray Sherman. "As I've found out, even knowing people does not guarantee you anything," Garcia said, "and even your personal experience of playing in the league for as many years as I've played does not guarantee anything. It was part of the learning curve and growth factor."
The 45-year-old father of four said he's committed to working his way toward the hopes of one day becoming a head coach. "One of the things I never do is sell myself short," Garcia said. "When I reach for something, I reach for the stars. If I'm going to do something, I really believe it will be at the NFL level, not the college level. I think once you get a taste of the National Football League, it's hard to go in another direction."
DeVito's coaching career might have started earlier than he would have liked, were it not for Derrick Johnson. In the span of eight plays in Kansas City's 2014 season opener against Tennessee, the Chiefs lost two of their defensive leaders to ruptured Achilles tendons. A 30-year-old defensive end, DeVito said he was so devastated by the injury that he would have retired had he not had Johnson there beside him, day after day, in rehab.
"Mentally I just couldn't have handled it doing that by myself," DeVito said. "Yeah, it was that much. It's funny, I've been a faith-first guy. I'm always saying my faith is bigger than this, and I didn't realize the kind of grip football had on me until I got hurt. I woke up every day that entire season with a pit in my stomach, like something was missing. If I didn't have Derrick to go through that with, I would've been in bad shape."
To break up the monotony of rehabilitating the first major injury of his career and to try to remain part of the team, DeVito watched film on his iPad while getting treatment. He took notes as he did when he was playing, and every week he wrote what he called "tip sheets" for the Chiefs' younger defensive linemen, like Dontari Poe, Jaye Howard and Allen Bailey. "I tried to do as much as I could without getting in the way," DeVito said. "What happens is -- and I've seen it before but never kind of been in the shoes of the person who got hurt -- the train keeps going. You're either onboard or you're not onboard. When you get hurt, you're just not onboard.
"So what I tried to do is be as supportive as I could to the players, studying film, writing them a tip sheet at the end of the week, just trying to help them for the games, when I could encourage the guys."
DeVito is entering his ninth season and has made 52 career starts for the Chiefs and New York Jets. Reid loves him. "He wants to go into coaching," Reid said. "He's smart, tough and calm under pressure. I just think with all you have to deal with as a head coach, those characteristics come in handy."
Said DeVito: "To think about being a head coach, that's so far down the line. But I've always thought about getting into coaching, the next step being an assistant D-line coach or a quality control or something like that because you recognize you have to work your way up. Those are the things you think, 'This would be great.' It's a great transition out of the NFL as far as playing because it still keeps you in the game, which you see so many guys have such a hard time when they get done."
Baltimore coach John Harbaugh is a fan of hiring former NFL players as assistant coaches. He has four on his staff: wide receivers coach Bobby Engram, defensive backs coach Chris Hewitt, tight ends coach Richard Angulo and assistant offensive line coach Todd Washington. Together, they have 31 years of playing experience. Harbaugh said the key for former players who want to become position coaches, and eventually head coaches, is to do what his brother, Jim, did -- be a quality-control coach who breaks down film. Go back and coach in college, even a small college. Learn how to be a coach.
"When you're a player, your knowledge is more narrow," Harbaugh said. "As a coach, it has to be more broad. You have to know how it all works. The guys who are willing to learn that climb real fast because they've got the experience and the credibility of being a former player. It's a big advantage." Harbaugh has coached several players recently whom he thinks would make effective head coaches. Former offensive lineman Matt Birk, who now works for the league office, is one. Ravens offensive lineman Marshal Yanda is another. And then there's Forsett, the journeyman running back who finally, with his fifth team in seven seasons, broke through to lead the NFL last year with an average of 5.4 yards per carry. A tough, resilient fighter, Forsett was rewarded by the Ravens in March with a three-year, $9 million contract. "He'd be a great coach," Harbaugh said. "He's smart. He's got great character. He relates well to people. He's a hard worker. I think he'll probably go into the ministry and be a pastor of some huge mega church, but I wouldn't bet against him getting into coaching. He'd be great with the players."
Forsett isn't so sure. "You have to be away from the family a lot, and you get sick and tired of looking at film all the time, so I'm not cut out for it," Forsett said. Don't tell that to his current coach. "Would I hire him? Absolutely," said Harbaugh.
Quarterbacks guru George Whitfield spent part of last summer as an intern with the San Francisco 49ers. While in San Francisco, he sat in offensive line meetings and was impressed by three-time All-Pro tackle Joe Staley. "Just from watching him with the younger players, he's tactical, a great teacher, gruff at points but knows how to pick your chin up, too," Whitfield said. "He's really diligent and a heavy note-taker." The other player who struck Whitfield as a potential head coach one day: the 34-year-old Boldin, who in 12 seasons in Arizona, Baltimore and San Francisco has amassed 12,406 receiving yards and 70 receiving touchdowns.
"He knows everybody's job," Whitfield said. "He knows the job of the quarterback. When the run fake goes, most people know I have the X route on X side of the field. He'll run his route, and then after the play yell at the slot, 'Know what we're trying to do. We're trying to tie up this safety.' A lot of guys come in and they're experts at what they specifically have to do. They come in, and come out. Boldin no question knows everything."
It's not a total surprise for a player who has seen his own role evolve over time: a big-play target who has become more of the classic possession receiver over the years, no longer as explosive but twice as crafty.
"A lot of times, he'll be talking to the receivers coach: 'You sure you want to go that deep? I don't think we'll get that.'" said Whitfield. "He'll take concepts that are already in the playbook and then go out in practice and work on the practical theory of them between reps. ... He's always thinking."
Matt Hasselbeck
Reid once told Hasselbeck, whom he coached in Green Bay, that if Hasselbeck ever thought he would like to become an NFL head coach, he should a make a list. Have a plan for how he would fill out his coaching staff. Hasselbeck has a partial list, limited to current and former players. On offense, Hasselbeck would hire Baltimore assistant Bobby Engram as his offensive coordinator, 14-year NFL veteran Robbie Tobeck as his offensive line coach, Brandon Stokley as his wide receivers coach, recently retired Arizona tight end John Carlson as his tight ends coach and his brother Tim as his quarterbacks coach.
On defense, he would hire Seattle assistant linebackers coach Lofa Tatupu as his coordinator, Hall of Fame defensive tackle Cortez Kennedy as his defensive line coach and San Francisco safety Antoine Bethea as his defensive backs coach. Indianapolis linebacker Andy Studebaker would be his special teams coordinator. Despite rattling off the names easily, Hasselbeck managed to insist he is not interested in coaching. "My wife and I, we talked about it," Hasselbeck said. "I actually would rather be the boss of the organization than the head coach, to be honest. Be the general manager or the president.
"The thing about coaching is you end up moving. If you lose, you get fired and your family has to move." That's the rub for so many players. The Hasselbecks have three children, and their father said he wants time to see their athletic careers. He says he won't sacrifice more time when he retires. "I mean, I would love to coach, but I also know the cost," he said. "If you count the cost of what it would be to become a head coach, it's a huge sacrifice." But, he concedes, "I can't even imagine how fun it would be to be in charge of a team and get out there and go to work on Sundays, but I also know what you are going to give up."