 Griese in 2013 | |||||||||||||||
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| Born | (1975-03-18)March 18, 1975 (age 50) Miami, Florida, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight | 214 lb (97 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Christopher Columbus (Miami) | ||||||||||||||
| College | Michigan (1993–1997) | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1998: 3rd round, 91st overall pick | ||||||||||||||
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Brian David Griese (/ˈɡriːsi/GREE-see; born March 18, 1975) is an American professionalfootball coach and former player who was most recently thequarterbacks coach for theSan Francisco 49ers of theNational Football League (NFL). A formerquarterback in the NFL, he playedcollege football for theMichigan Wolverines and was selected by theDenver Broncos in the third round of the1998 NFL draft.
Griese played three seasons at theUniversity of Michigan, leading the Wolverines to win the 1997 national championship. After being selected in the third round by theDenver Broncos in the1998 NFL draft, he earned aSuper Bowl ring with the Broncos in his rookie season, as a backup toJohn Elway inSuper Bowl XXXIII. Elway retired after the Super Bowl and Griese became the starting quarterback for the Broncos during the 1999 season. Griese was aPro Bowl selection with the Broncos in2000. After leaving the Broncos he started at quarterback for theMiami Dolphins (5 games in 2003),Chicago Bears (13 games in 2006 and 2007) andTampa Bay Buccaneers (21 games in 2004, 2005, 2008). He is the son ofHall of Fame quarterbackBob Griese. Griese is a formercolor commentator forMonday Night Football onESPN.
Griese was born inMiami, Florida and attendedChristopher Columbus High School in Miami, playing football, basketball and golf. Brian is the son of former NFL QuarterbackBob Griese, who spent his entire career with theMiami Dolphins.
Griese playedcollege football at theUniversity of Michigan from 1993 to 1997. Michigan did not offer him ascholarship, so he walked on to the football team. He turned down scholarship offers fromPurdue (his father'salma mater) andKentucky. After he wasredshirted in 1993 and limited to placeholding duties in 1994, Griese took over as the starting quarterback afterScott Dreisbach was injured five games into the 1995 season. Griese started for the remainder of the 1995 season, capped by an upset of #2 rankedOhio State, 31–23.
At the beginning of the 1996 season, Dreisbach regained his starting job and Griese returned to the bench, serving as the team'spooch punter. However, after Dreisbach struggled, Griese replaced him at halftime against Ohio State, where he led the Wolverines to another upset victory over the Buckeyes, 13–9. Griese finished the season starting in a 17–14 loss toAlabama in theOutback Bowl.
In 1997, Griese remained the starter. Along withHeisman Trophy winnerCharles Woodson, he led the Wolverines to anundefeated season and a share of thenational championship. Griese was selected as the MVP of the1998 Rose Bowl, passing for 251 yards and three touchdowns in Michigan's win overWashington State.
In his Michigan career, Griese had a 17–5 record as a starter. The Wolverines won all three games against Ohio State in which he quarterbacked. He was inducted into theRose Bowl Hall of Fame on December 30, 2012.
| Michigan Wolverines | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Passing | ||||||||||
| Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Lng | Rtg | |||
| 1995 | 127 | 239 | 53.4 | 1,577 | 6.6 | 13 | 10 | 75 | 118.1 | ||
| 1996 | 35 | 61 | 57.4 | 513 | 8.4 | 3 | 2 | 69 | 137.7 | ||
| 1997 | 193 | 307 | 62.9 | 2,293 | 7.5 | 17 | 6 | 58 | 140.0 | ||
| Career | 355 | 606 | 58.6 | 4,383 | 7.2 | 33 | 18 | 75 | 131.1 | ||
TheDenver Broncos selected Griese in the third round of the1998 NFL draft.[1] He began his career as a third-string back up toBubby Brister andJohn Elway. He became aSuper Bowl champion in 1998, though he spent most of the season on the sidelines. Following Elway's retirement in 1999, Griese became the Broncos' starting quarterback. Griese earned a 75.6passer rating during his first season as starter, but improved the next year, raising it to 102.9. His efforts merited him an invite to the2001 Pro Bowl.
Griese consistently completed a high percentage of his passes. He has had four seasons with a better than 64% completion rate, including one year (2004) when he completed 69.3% of his passes. Nevertheless, he was unable to establish himself as one of the elite quarterbacks of the league, due to injuries and a penchant for interceptions. He was released by the Broncos, following the 2002 season, and was replaced by former Cardinals starterJake Plummer.
In June 2003 he signed with theMiami Dolphins. His stint with the Dolphins, where his fatherBob Griese played his entire 14-year career, was brief, being released in February 2004. Griese was given the starting job when the Dolphins starting quarterbackJay Fiedler got injured. Griese had an excellent start as a Dolphin, passing for 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions in a blowout victory against San Diego.
Griese signed with and performed well for theTampa Bay Buccaneers, and provided a catalyst for the jumpstart of the Tampa offense. He was named the starter for the team in October 2004, benching Super Bowl championBrad Johnson. He won his first game starting, against the New Orleans Saints in week five.
On October 16, 2005 during a week six matchup against the Maimi Dolphins, Griese suffered a season ending knee injury. Griese helped them to their only victories in 2004 with a 97.5 QB rating and to a 5–1 record in 2005 before succumbing to a torn ACL. Griese was cut by the Buccaneers in 2006 after the injury to hisknee in order to free up money for thesalary cap.
On March 21, 2006, he signed a five-year contract with theChicago Bears.[2]
After signing with the Bears, Griese saw limited action. Though he fared better thanRex Grossman during the 2006 preseason, coachLovie Smith decided to keep Griese as the Bears’ second-string quarterback. He took late fourth quarter snaps at the end of major victories. Though Grossman started every Bears game in the 2006 season, Smith allowed Griese some extended gametime during week fifteen, after the Bears had clinched home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. In a game against theDetroit Lions, Griese completed six of nine passes for 51 yards, which set up several game-winningRobbie Gould field goals. Smith called on Griese to relieve a struggling Grossman for the second half of the final regular season game against theGreen Bay Packers. However, Griese did not fare a lot better, completing 5 of 15 passes for 124 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. While some Chicagoans questioned Grossman's ability to lead the Bears to theSuper Bowl, Smith stood by Grossman, and declared him the team's starter throughout the playoffs. The Bears went on to win the2006 NFC Championship, but lostSuper Bowl XLI to theIndianapolis Colts.
After Grossman struggled during the first three outings of the2007 Chicago Bears season, Smith turned to Griese to lead the team.[3] In his first outing as a Bears starter, Griese threw two touchdowns and three interceptions in a losing effort against theDetroit Lions.[4] The next week, he led the Bears on a game-winning drive against thePhiladelphia Eagles, in which he called the plays due to a headset failure. Griese lost the starting job to Grossman after sustaining an injury against theOakland Raiders during week ten.[5] Griese again replaced Grossman later in the season, after Grossman sustained a knee injury against theWashington Redskins.[6] However, with the Bears out of the playoffs,Kyle Orton started the remaining 3 games of the season.
On March 3, 2008, Griese was traded to theTampa Bay Buccaneers in exchange for a sixth round pick in the2009 draft.[7] He started the second game of the season, a home game against theAtlanta Falcons, which the Buccaneers won 24–9. Griese completed 18 of 31 passes, throwing for 160 yards with one touchdown. The next week, Griese played his old team, the Chicago Bears, and despite throwing 3 interceptions, he threw for 407 yards and 2 touchdowns to help the Buccaneers beat the Chicago Bears 27–24 in overtime. He also started the following week, and again despite throwing 3 interceptions, he completed 15 of 30 passes for 149 yards, 1 touchdown, and lead the Bucs to a victory over theGreen Bay Packers 30–21. Griese started against the Atlanta Falcons again on December 14, 2008, subbing forJeff Garcia who was sidelined with a calf injury. He completed 26 of 37 passes for 269 yards and threw 1 touchdown. But Griese also threw an interception and was sacked four times. The Bucs ended up losing the game in overtime 13–10. His career starting for Tampa Bay was 8–2. He was released on July 13, 2009.[8] After his release, Griese decided to retire from football.
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Passing | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Lng | Rtg | ||
| 1998 | DEN | 1 | 0 | – | 1 | 3 | 33.3 | 2 | 0.7 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2.8 |
| 1999 | DEN | 14 | 13 | 4–9 | 261 | 452 | 57.7 | 3,032 | 6.7 | 14 | 14 | 88 | 75.6 |
| 2000 | DEN | 10 | 10 | 7–3 | 216 | 336 | 64.3 | 2,688 | 8.0 | 19 | 4 | 61 | 102.9 |
| 2001 | DEN | 15 | 15 | 8–7 | 275 | 451 | 61.0 | 2,827 | 6.3 | 23 | 19 | 65 | 78.5 |
| 2002 | DEN | 13 | 13 | 8–5 | 291 | 436 | 66.7 | 3,214 | 7.4 | 15 | 15 | 82 | 85.6 |
| 2003 | MIA | 5 | 5 | 3–2 | 74 | 130 | 56.9 | 813 | 6.3 | 5 | 6 | 80 | 69.2 |
| 2004 | TB | 11 | 10 | 4–6 | 233 | 336 | 69.3 | 2,632 | 7.8 | 20 | 12 | 68 | 97.5 |
| 2005 | TB | 6 | 6 | 5–1 | 112 | 174 | 64.4 | 1,136 | 6.5 | 7 | 7 | 80 | 79.6 |
| 2006 | CHI | 6 | 0 | – | 18 | 32 | 56.3 | 220 | 6.9 | 1 | 2 | 75 | 62.0 |
| 2007 | CHI | 7 | 6 | 3–3 | 161 | 262 | 61.5 | 1,803 | 6.9 | 10 | 12 | 81 | 75.6 |
| 2008 | TB | 5 | 5 | 3–2 | 110 | 184 | 59.8 | 1,073 | 5.8 | 5 | 7 | 38 | 69.4 |
| Career[9] | 93 | 83 | 45–38 | 1,752 | 2,796 | 62.7 | 19,440 | 7.0 | 119 | 99 | 88 | 82.7 | |
From 2009 to 2020, Griese was employed byESPN, working as an analyst on the network'scollege football coverage. Griese also served as radiocolor commentator for850 KOA (AM)'s coverage ofDenver Broncos' football for the 2010 and 2011 seasons.[10]
From 2020 to 2022, Griese joined the booth forMonday Night Football, working alongsideSteve Levy andLouis Riddick.[11]
On March 4, 2022, it was announced Griese was leavingMonday Night Football to become the quarterbacks coach for theSan Francisco 49ers, replacingRich Scangarello, who left to become the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach atKentucky.[12] He played quarterback for theTampa Bay Buccaneers from 2004 to 2005 when 49ers head coachKyle Shanahan was an offensive quality control coach, while also being drafted by Shanahan's fatherMike Shanahan while head coach of theDenver Broncos.
On February 26, 2025, it was announced that Griese had left San Francisco's coaching staff in order to spend more time with his family.[13]
Griese was a member of thePhi Gamma Delta fraternity and received his bachelor's degree in an individualized concentration from Michigan in 1997.
Griese is founder and board president ofJudi's House, a children's grief support center in Denver, Colorado. Brian's mother, Judi Griese, succumbed to a six year battle with breast cancer and passed when Brian was 12. The grieving process was hard for Brian, and so he established Judi's House to serve grieving children in theDenver area.[14]
He also helped establish what would become the Griese, Hutchinson and Woodson Champions for Children's Hearts golf weekend in May 2007. The event benefited the capital campaign for construction of theC.S. Mott Children's Hospital as well as the Michigan Congenital Heart Center (MCHC) which resides within Mott. He also remains involved with the From the Heart Organization, a relationship that dates back to his playing days in Ann Arbor when he would visit Mott every week.
For his work with Judi's House, Griese was awarded the 2011 Patterson Award for Excellence in Sports Philanthropy, presented each year by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which celebrates and promotes the selfless service of people within the world of sports.[15] He was named the recipient of the Big Ten's Dungy-Thompson Humanitarian Award in 2014, and the Big Ten's Ford-Kinnick Leadership Award in 2015, becoming the first individual to be recognized with both of the conference's annual awards. These awards recognize Big Ten football players that have achieved success in the areas of leadership and humanitarianism after their college careers have ended.[16]
Brian and his father,Bob Griese, became the first father-and-son duo in NFL history to both win aSuper Bowl.[17] Brian and his father wrote a book together,Undefeated (ISBN 0-7852-7021-3), published in 2000 about their lives through their undefeated seasons and living through the breast cancer illness and death of Brian's mother and Bob's first wife, Judi.
Griese married Brook McClintic, a clinical psychologist, in 2004 inSaint John, U.S. Virgin Islands. The couple met while Griese was playing for the Broncos. Brian and Brook have a daughter, Annalia Rose, and a son, Nathan.[18]
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| National | |
