GARCIA’S GRID BITS
Q&A WITH EX-QB:
He came close to being cut by Wally Buono before his stock took off.
When Jeff Garcia, the fourtime All-CFL and fourtime Pro Bowl quarterback, critiqued the management of the San Francisco 49ers this month, his pointed comments set off a hullabaloo across the National Football League.
“As a fan, you have to look at the organization (GM Trent Baalke, CEO Jed York) ... you have a lot of personnel in positions of power who don’t have real football backgrounds,” said Garcia, a former 49er.
Speaking at a Q and A session for a fundraiser at Humboldt State University, Garcia’s roomservice quotes — which played to disgruntled 49er fans — were duly noted by a reporter for the Eureka (Calif.) Times-Herald. In a slow news week for the NFL, they went viral.
“When I saw the article, I was somewhat shocked,” Garcia told The Vancouver Sun. “I’m not into the social media thing — Twitter, Facebook. But it just spread. I wasn’t trying to take anybody down. I never intended to doubt what Trent Baalke is doing or Jed York is doing. I just said what I thought.”
If Garcia goes too far sometimes, it’s because he still burns with passion for the game and remains true to himself.
On Wednesday evening, he is the keynote speaker for the Orange Helmet Awards, the B.C. Lions’ annual salute to amateur football. In the audience at the Westin Bayshore will be Lions’ GM Wally Buono, a reminder of a career that almost wasn’t.
Twenty one years ago, Buono, then coach and GM of the Calgary Stampeders, came close to cutting the rookie quarterback. Garcia went on to win a Grey Cup and played for eight more teams in two other leagues before retiring in 2011 at age 41.
Q After going undrafted from San Jose State (1994) your next option was the CFL. How did your first contract negotiation go with Wally?
A They wanted me to commit for two years (plus an option). I only wanted to sign for one year, so I sent that portion of the contract back to Calgary. Wally got on the phone: ‘Where’s the second year?’ I told him I only wanted to come to Canada for one year. I believed I could play in the NFL. He just laughed. ‘You won’t be playing anywhere if you don’t sign both.’ I didn’t hesitate much longer.
Q Wally tells the apocryphal tale of nearly cutting you. How close did it come?
A When I first got to Canada, I struggled with that fat ball. I couldn’t throw a spiral to save my life. Wally told me, if I didn’t perform, I’d be gone. It came down to the fourth quarter of a pre-season game in Sacramento. I remember going six-for-eight and throwing for two touchdowns. We won 28-14. When we got back to Calgary, I heard that John Hufnagel (the offensive co-ordinator) still had to battle to keep me.
Q Everywhere you went, you weren’t expected to last — college, CFL, NFL. People kept measuring you and asking, ‘What are you doing here?’ Where did your drive come from?
A I was a shy, introverted, red-haired, freckle-faced kid, not confident in my own appearance. But I had the ability to excite my parents (Bob and Linda) in sports. They went through some miserable times (the Garcias lost twin daughters; Jeff’s brother, Jason, and sister, Kimberly, later died through misadventure). Knowing all that tragedy they went through, the last thing I wanted to be was another disappointment for my parents.
Q Your name came up in November (after Mike Benevides was fired) as a coaching candidate for the Lions (Garcia was an assistant last season in Montreal). Did you talk?
A Wally knows I would give everything I have to help a team be successful. We did have an open and interesting conversation. But I’m also realistic. I wasn’t going to be considered for a head coaching job after just one year as an assistant. The guy they hired (Jeff Tedford) is a pretty great addition.
Q What about coaching in the NFL? (Garcia was interviewed twice in February by the St. Louis Rams. Head coach Jeff Fisher instead chose Chris Weinke to be his quarterbacks coach).
A Montreal gave a taste of a new life opening for me in coaching. I’m pretty much resigned to the fact it’s not in the cards this season (in the NFL). I was a quarterback who didn’t fit the prototype, but I made it happen because of my drive, my heart and my knowledge of the game. I believe a team is missing out on what I’m able to bring to the table.
I was a quarter back who didn’t fit the proto type, but I made it happen because of my drive, my heart and my knowledge of the game. I believe a team is missing out on what I’m able to bring to the table (as a coach).
JEFF GARCIA
FORMER CFL AND NFL QUARTERBACK