 Clements with theGreen Bay Packers in 2013 | |||||||||
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| Position | Quarterback | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1953-06-18)June 18, 1953 (age 72) McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||
| Weight | 185 lb (84 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Bishop Canevin(Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) | ||||||||
| College | Notre Dame | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1975: undrafted | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
Playing | |||||||||
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Coaching | |||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
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| Career CFL statistics | |||||||||
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| Coaching profile at Pro Football Reference | |||||||||
Thomas Albert Clements (born June 18, 1953) is an American former professionalfootball player andcoach. He played as aquarterback in theCanadian Football League (CFL) andNational Football League (NFL). After his playing career, he served as an assistant coach for theArizona Cardinals,Buffalo Bills,Pittsburgh Steelers,Kansas City Chiefs,New Orleans Saints,Green Bay Packers, and theUniversity of Notre Dame.
Clements attendedCanevin Catholic High School inPittsburgh,Pennsylvania, and graduated in 1971. Clements was a four-year letterman in both football and basketball. He was also offered a basketball scholarship at North Carolina, but decided to play football instead. He is the only athlete in Canevin history to have his jersey retired.[citation needed]
Clements was the starting quarterback for theUniversity of Notre Dame from1972 through1974 and led the team to anational championship in 1973. In theSugar Bowl againsttop-rankedAlabama on December 31,1973, he had a 36-yard square-out completion to tight end Robin Weber on 3rd and 9 from his own end zone with two minutes left to secure a 24–23 victory. In 1974, Clements was fourth in thevoting for theHeisman Trophy and was a first-teamAll-American.[1] In theOrange Bowl onNew Year's night, Notre Dame again upset undefeatedAlabama to finish at 10–2 inAra Parseghian's final season as head coach.
After graduation, Clements began a career in theCanadian Football League, quarterbacking theOttawa Rough Riders for four seasons and winning the league's Rookie-of-the-Year award in his inaugural campaign. The next season, he helped to lead the team to what became the Rough Riders' lastGrey Cup victory. After taking a powerful hit, a woozy Clements threw a pass to tight endTony Gabriel in the end zone, a catch which became famous in defeating theSaskatchewan Roughriders.[citation needed]
During his time with Ottawa, Clements shared the passing duties withCondredge Holloway, from 1975 to 1977 as the quarterback getting the most playing time. In 1978, their stats were comparable, except for Holloway throwing only two interceptions to 12 by Clements.[citation needed]
Clements continued his career with theSaskatchewan Roughriders in 1979, but did not fare well, throwing only two touchdowns to 11 interceptions and being replaced by Danny Sanders. However, a trade to theHamilton Tiger-Cats quickly rejuvenated Clements, and he led the CFL in passing yards with 2,803, the last to do so with less than 3,000 yards.[citation needed] In 1980, Clements was briefly on the roster of the NFL'sKansas City Chiefs, coached by former Montreal Alouettes head coachMarv Levy, but was the third-string quarterback for a team that stressed the running game. In 1981, Clements returned to the Tiger-Cats and threw for 4,536 yards. He improved his numbers the next season with 4,706 yards. In 1983, Clements was traded from Hamilton to theWinnipeg Blue Bombers for long-time Blue Bomber quarterbackDieter Brock. The next year, those two teams, Hamilton and Winnipeg, faced each other in theGrey Cup. Clements led the Bombers to their first Grey Cup victory since 1962. In 1986, he set a new completion percentage record with 67.5, 173 out of 256. Clements finished his playing career with Winnipeg in 1987 and was also named the league's Most Outstanding Player. He finished his CFL career with over 39,000 passing yards, 252 passing touchdowns, and a 60.35 completion percentage. In 2005, for the 75th anniversary of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Clements was selected one of the Bombers 20 all-time great players. In addition, in November 2006, he was voted one of the CFL'sTop 50 players (#47) of the league's modern era by Canadian sports networkTSN.
Clements was inducted into theCanadian Football Hall of Fame in 1994.
In 1992, Clements was hired as quarterbacks coach for Notre Dame, where he served until 1995 under head coachLou Holtz. After practicing law in 1996, Clements took his firstNFL job, working as the quarterback coach for theNew Orleans Saints from 1997 to 1999. Clements would hold the same job in 2000 with theKansas City Chiefs, and between 2001 and 2003 with thePittsburgh Steelers; under Clements's tutelage, the Chiefs'Elvis Grbac (in 2000) and the Steelers'Kordell Stewart (in 2001) andTommy Maddox (in 2002) each reached thePro Bowl.
In 2004 and 2005 Clements served as offensive coordinator for theBuffalo Bills, but was released by the team after a front-office shakeup in whichMarv Levy, his coach with the Chiefs in 1980, assumed the position ofgeneral manager and ultimately installedDick Jauron as the team's new head coach.
Upon the hiring ofMike McCarthy to be the head coach of theGreen Bay Packers on January 11, 2006, the Packers parted ways with several assistant coaches, and McCarthy later interviewedNFL Europe head coachSteve Logan and Clements, settling on Clements on January 28, 2006.[1]During Clements' time as the quarterbacks coach with the Packers, he worked with starting quarterbacksBrett Favre,Aaron Rodgers, andMatt Flynn. In 2007, Favre statistically had one of his best seasons with the Packers, taking them to the NFC Championship game. Clements is also credited for assisting in the development of one of the game's elite quarterbacks inAaron Rodgers, as the first player inNFL history to throw for 4,000+ yards during his first two years as a starting quarterback in 2008 and 2009, and winningSuper Bowl XLV andSuper Bowl Most Valuable Player Award in Rodgers' third year as a starting quarterback in 2010. In Week 17 of the 2011 season, after the Packers went 14–1, McCarthy chose to deactivate Rodgers to keep him healthy for the playoffs and start backup quarterback,Matt Flynn, on January 1, 2012, atLambeau Field vs. theDetroit Lions, Flynn's second start in his career. Throughout the game, Clements worked with Flynn on the sidelines, showing him what to look for in the photos from the previous offensive series. Flynn had a record-setting performance, throwing for 480 yards and 6 touchdowns, both single game records for the Packers. On February 12, 2015, Clements role was elevated to assistant head coach with respective play-calling responsibilities. On January 26, 2017, McCarthy announced Clements' contract had expired and he would move on to pursue other opportunities.[2]
On January 22, 2019, Clements was hired as passing game coordinator/quarterbacks coach for the Arizona Cardinals on the staff of new head coachKliff Kingsbury after being out of the NFL the past two years. Clements was hired as the primary offensive assistant because no offensive coordinator on the staff was added, with Kingsbury calling plays and doing other coordinator-type duties.[3]
In January 2021, Clements announced his retirement from coaching.[4]
On February 17, 2022, Clements came out of retirement and joined the Packers as the quarterbacks coach again, this time under head coachMatt LaFleur.[5] He worked with Rodgers for one season until the latter was traded to the New York Jets in the 2023 offseason, although Clements stayed on to assist 2020 first round pick and new starterJordan Love.[6] Love led the Packers back to the playoffs by throwing for 32 touchdowns and 4,159 passing yards in 17 starts.
On January 14, 2025, Clements again announced his retirement.[7]
While still in the CFL, Clements received hisJuris Doctor degreemagna cum laude fromNotre Dame Law School in 1986. Upon the completion of his playing career, he practiced law in Chicago for five years at the law firm Bell, Boyd & Lloyd (now K&L Gates).
