| No. 8, 17, 10 | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Quarterback | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | (1957-01-22)January 22, 1957 (age 68) Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight | 195 lb (88 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Birmingham (AL) Banks | ||||||||||||||
| College | Alabama | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1979: 9th round, 246th overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
Playing | |||||||||||||||
Coaching | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Jeffrey Ronald Rutledge (born January 22, 1957) is an American former professionalfootball player and coach. He played as aquarterback for 14 seasons in theNational Football League (NFL). A backup for most of his career, he was a member of theNew York Giants team that won aSuper Bowl inSuper Bowl XXI and theWashington Redskins team that wonSuper Bowl XXVI.
Rutledge playedcollege football for theAlabama Crimson Tide,starting at quarterback for their 1978national championship victory. He was selected by theLos Angeles Rams in the ninth round of the1979 NFL draft. He became a coach after his playing career.
Rutledge was born and raised inBirmingham, Alabama. He was part of a team that earned back-to-back state titles atL. Frazier Banks High School in Birmingham, Alabama. As a senior, he was a member of the 1974 Parade High School All-American team.[1]
Rutledge played collegiately atAlabama,[2][3] where he was a member of three SEC Championship teams under CoachPaul "Bear" Bryant. He was the starting quarterback on the 1978National Championship team. A three-year starter, he also led Alabama to the #2 National ranking in 1977. He also led the Crimson Tide to two Sugar Bowl appearances and two SEC Championships. Rutledge earned MVP honors at the 1978 Sugar Bowl and also earned All-SEC honors in 1978 and 1979.[4]
He finished his college career with a 33-5 record as a starter, which currently ranks him as the University of Alabama's seventh all-time winningest quarterback. He received his degree from Alabama in Business Administration and in 2011, was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.
Jeff's brother, Gary Rutledge, was also a quarterback at Alabama, playing there from 1972 to 1974.
Selected in the ninth round of the1979 NFL draft (246th overall pick) by theLos Angeles Rams,[2] Rutledge played in 14NFL seasons[3][5] from 1979 to 1992 for three different teams.[2] Rutledge spent most of his career as a back-up quarterback and a holder on kicks. He was a backup inSuper Bowl XIV as a member of theLos Angeles Rams, he was a backup toSuper Bowl MVPPhil Simms inSuper Bowl XXI as a member of theNew York Giants, and was a backup inSuper Bowl XXVI as a member of theWashington Redskins. His most notable play with the Giants came inSuper Bowl XXI in the third quarter. On fourth down with a yard needed, he was sent by head coachBill Parcells for a potential decoy play. When the other team did not pick up on Rutledge, he took the snap and did a sneak up the middle for yardage that gave the Giants a first down that would eventually lead to a go-ahead score.
His finest moment as a professional player came when as a member of the Redskins he came off the bench in a game versus theDetroit Lions in 1990. Trailing 35-14 with 10:37 left in the third quarter Rutledge replaced an ineffectiveStan Humphries and led a great comeback. He completed 30 of 42 passes for 363 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 12 yards for the game-tying touchdown with only 24 seconds remaining. In overtime, he hitArt Monk with a vital 40-yard pass on third and 15 to help set upChip Lohmiller's game-winning field goal.
That game meant that Rutledge got the nod to start the following week on Monday Night against thePhiladelphia Eagles in a game that was to become infamously known as the "Body Bag Game". Rutledge, first, and then Stan Humphries were knocked out of the game, leaving emergency quarterbackBrian Mitchell (a kick returner and former college quarterback) to finish the game. Rutledge would never start an NFL game again but he did see spot duty in relief of returning starterMark Rypien in the Redskins' 1991Super Bowl Championship season, including some playing time in the last game of the regular season, again against the Philadelphia Eagles.
In the spring of 2007 Rutledge got his first NFL coaching job when he was hired as quarterbacks coach with the NFL'sArizona Cardinals,[5] with direct charge over Kurt Warner. That year, the Cardinals made a late season run and earned aSuper Bowl berth, but lost to thePittsburgh Steelers, 27-23. When the Cardinals hired a new offensive coordinator at the end of that season, Rutledge and most of the offensive staff were fired.[3][6]
Rutledge served as thequarterbacks andtight ends coach for theNew York Sentinels of theUnited Football League in 2009.[3]
In April 2010, Rutledge agreed to become the head football coach atPope John Paul II High School inHendersonville, Tennessee; where he coached for two seasons, leading the Knights to a 4-18 record. He resigned in the Spring of 2012 to return to Arizona to spend time with his family.[3][5][6] Rutledge led Montgomery Bell Academy to a 41-17 record from 2002 to 2006, with two state titles in 2002 and 2003 and a #15 ranking in the final USA Today Super 25 poll in 2003.
In May 2013, Rutledge was hired by Valley Christian High School in Chandler, Arizona as a full-time staff member and also to lead the football program. He coached for five seasons until stepping down in 2017, going 23-28 as coach.[4][7]
Rutledge is a Christian and attends Arizona Community Church in Chandler. He and his wife Laura and have 3 children.[8]