What Darnold Is Teaching Purdy The 49ers’ Not So Secret Weapon originally appeared nbc sports birea
SANTA CLARA — The 49ers did the unthinkable in 2022, clawing their way to a spot in the NFC Championship Game with the third quarterback on their roster, and for a good reason.
Coach Kyle Shanahan is known to be an offensive genius, but quarterback coach Brian Griese may not be so much the secret weapon of the 49ers’ offense. The longtime quarterback was an ESPN commentator for over a decade joined San Francisco’s coaching staff before the 2022 NFL season.
Trey Lance, Brock Purdy, Sam Darnold and even former 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo have shared that Griese’s experience under center makes him a valuable coach.
“Gries has been fantastic so far,” Darnold said during OTAs. “Really the whole process, when I decided to sign here. To be able to talk about learning the system, about coming to a new team, some of the expectations coming in and being the new guy on the block. Graze has been wonderful to me to be able to talk about.
The former Carolina Panthers quarterback explained that it’s more than just Griese who knows the offensive system inside and out. The 49ers coach knows what happens before the ball is snapped is also important.
Darnold said, “It also has the mentality of, ‘Okay, when I step into that crowd, I’m the leader.'” “And people going in, if they have questions, they should trust me that I know the answers in terms of planning and what they’ve got, so Griese has been great that way.”
Brock Purdy has not yet thrown a football since having surgery on his ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing arm on March 1. still young quarterback shared how Grise is helping Make sure they are using their time on the field wisely.
“Oh yeah, it’s been great, really picking up where we left off last year,” Purdy said. “I always say, his experience, he’s in our position, so he relates to a lot of things – what we’re seeing, how we’re feeling, situational football.”
Gracie spent 11 seasons in the league on four different teams after being drafted by the Denver Broncos in the third round of the 1998 NFL Draft. The Michigan alum finished with a 45–38 NFL record and a 62.7 percent career completion rate.
After spending his first five seasons with the Broncos, Griese played one year in Miami before moving to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for two seasons and the Chicago Bears for the other two. The quarterback coach’s final NFL season was a return to Tampa where he started five games.
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Now he’s imparting his years of wisdom to a crowded 49ers’ quarterback room.
“To take the momentum that we had from last year, and then he really just being able to break down defenses and different concepts, having Griese in our corner has been a blessing,” Purdy said. “she’s the Man.”
