| Indianapolis Colts | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Offensive passing game coordinator | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | (1987-11-11)November 11, 1987 (age 38) Lexington, Illinois, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 220 lb (100 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Lexington | ||||||||||||||
| College | Monmouth College | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 2012: undrafted | ||||||||||||||
| Position | Quarterback, No. 11, 3 | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
Playing | |||||||||||||||
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* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||||||
Coaching | |||||||||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
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Alex Tanney (born November 11, 1987) is an Americanfootball coach and formerquarterback who serves as the offensive passing game coordinator for theIndianapolis Colts of theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theMonmouth Fighting Scots and signed as an undrafted free agent with theKansas City Chiefs in 2012. Tanney was also a member of theDallas Cowboys,Cleveland Browns,Tampa Bay Buccaneers,Tennessee Titans,Buffalo Bills, Colts, andNew York Giants before retiring in 2020.
Tanney began his coaching in 2021 as an offensive quality control coach with the Eagles under head coachNick Sirianni.
Tanney was a three-sport high school standout athlete atLexington High School inLexington, Illinois, where he finished as the school's all-time leading point scorer.[citation needed] He was a two-time first-team Illinois All-State quarterback and led his team to the IHSA state semi-finals his senior year. Tanney was also named an All-State basketball player. As a junior and senior, he placed at the IHSA State Track and Field Finals.
Tanney broke nearly every school record during his time atMonmouth College. As a freshman in 2007, his career began when he threw for 2,678 yards and 24 touchdowns.
As a sophomore in 2008, Tanney broke the school record of single-season touchdown passes with 50.
As a junior in 2009, Tanney collected 3,856 passing yards, 44 passing touchdowns and a rushing score, which led him to be named theMelberger Award winner asNCAAD-III's top player. Tanney was responsible for more than 24 points per game, while also averaging 350.55 passing yards and 348.73 total yards per contest.
Tanneyredshirted during the 2010 season, with a shoulder injury he suffered in the second game againstGrinnell College.[1]
In February 2011, Tanney became famous after posting inYouTube a football trick-shot video that went viral.[2] In July,History Channel'sStan Lee's Superhumans filmed an episode featuring him.[3]
As a senior, Tanney came back and threw for a career-high 3,867 yards along with 38 touchdowns. On October 29, 2011, in a game againstCarroll University, he set the NCAA record for all-time all-division career touchdown passes with 150, surpassingJimmy Terwilliger's record of 148.
Tanney finished his collegiate career with 157 touchdown passes and has the second most passing yards in NCAA D-III history with 14,249. He won three Midwest Conference Offensive Player of the Year Awards along with numerous All-American Awards.
Tanney signed a contract with theKansas City Chiefs as an undraftedfree agent on June 5, 2012.[4] He was placed on injured reserve with a finger injury on September 1.
On July 21, 2013, theDallas Cowboys signed Tanney to their roster.[5] On August 4, he played the entire second half of the Hall of Fame Game inCanton, Ohio. On August 29, Tanney played all but one series in the 24–6 loss against theHouston Texans, where he posted 17-of-31 completions for 177 yards and an interception while being sacked seven times.[6] In five preseason games, Tanney completed 40-of-73 attempts for 423 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions. He was released on August 30,[7] but was signed to the Cowboys' eight-player practice squad two days later.[8]
On November 26, 2013, theCleveland Browns signed Tanney off the Cowboys' practice squad.[9] On May 12, 2014, Tanney was released.[10]
Tanney was signed by theTampa Bay Buccaneers on May 20, 2014.[11] He was released on August 24.[12]
On December 16, 2014, Tanney was signed to thepractice squad of theTennessee Titans.[13] He signed a futures contract with the Titans on December 29.[14]
Tanney was released on September 5, 2015.[15]
Tanney was signed to the practice squad of theBuffalo Bills on September 7, 2015.[16] Tanney was dropped from the practice squad a day later, after the team re-signedMatt Cassel.[17][18]
Tanney signed to the practice squad of theIndianapolis Colts on September 29, 2015.[19] He was released on October 20.[20] Tanney re-signed to the practice squad on November 10.[21]
On December 21, 2015, Tanney was signed off the Colts practice squad by the Titans.[22] He made his NFL regular-season debut on January 3, 2016, against the Colts, relieving the injuredZach Mettenberger in the third quarter and going 10-for-14 for 99 yards and throwing his first and only career touchdown toDorial Green-Beckham. Tanney became the firstDivision III quarterback to appear in an NFL game.[23]
On September 13, 2016, Tanney was waived by the Titans and was re-signed to the practice squad the next day.[24] On December 27, he was promoted to the active roster to back up Matt Cassel.[25]
On September 2, 2017, Tanney was placed on injured reserve.[26] On April 30, 2018, he was released.[27]
On May 2, 2018, Tanney signed with theNew York Giants.[28] He was named on the Giants’ 53-man roster on September 1 as the primary backup toEli Manning.[29]
On March 4, 2019, Tanney signed a two-year contract extension with the Giants.[30] He was released on October 10, 2019, but was re-signed the next day.[31]
Tanney was placed on the active/non-football illness list by the Giants at the start of training camp on July 28, 2020,[32] and moved back to the active roster six days later.[33] On September 5, Tanney was released.[34] On December 5, he was signed to the practice squad.[35] Tanney signed a reserve/future contract on January 4, 2021.[36]
On February 9, 2021, Tanney announced his retirement.[37]
| Year | Team | Games | Passing | Rushing | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | ||
| 2015 | TEN | 1 | 0 | 10 | 14 | 71.4 | 99 | 7.1 | 1 | 0 | 114.9 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| 2019 | NYG | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 100.0 | 1 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 79.2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Career[38] | 2 | 0 | 11 | 15 | 73.3 | 100 | 6.7 | 1 | 0 | 113.2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | |
In 2021, Tanney was hired by thePhiladelphia Eagles as an offensive quality control coach under head coachNick Sirianni.[39][40] In 2022, Tanney was promoted to assistant quarterbacks coach and offensive assistant coach.[41]
On February 28, 2023, Tanney was promoted to quarterbacks coach, replacingBrian Johnson, who was promoted to offensive coordinator.[42][43]
On January 26, 2024, Tanney requested permission, which was granted by the Eagles, to pursue another coaching job with another team and stated that he had opportunities elsewhere. The Eagles were giving their coaching staff an overhaul for the 2024 season and had recently fired offensive coordinator Brian Johnson.[44]
On February 7, 2024, Tanney was hired by the Indianapolis Colts to serve as the team's offensive passing game coordinator.[45]