The St. Louis Rams' new head coach, Jeff Fisher, and his offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer have made it quite clear that they plan to hire a quarterbacks coach this season. It remains to be seen who will fill that position, but one name they are reportedly interested in is Alex Van Pelt, the quarterbacks coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
"I think that that's something that was one of the first things that Jeff and I talked about," Schottenheimer said when asked about the quarterbacks coaching job in a recent conference call. "It's something that I really, truly believe in as well."
Van Pelt bounced around the NFL for 10 years as a backup quarterback. He started coaching in 2005 with the Frankfurt Galaxy, landing in the NFL a year later with the Buffalo Bills. The Bills promoted him to quarterbacks coach in 2008, an the next season he became their offensive coordinator before heading to Tampa Bay.
During his stint in Buffalo, Van Pelt developed a knack for making backup quarterbacks look good, including Trent Edwards and Ryan Fitzpatrick. He coached Josh Freeman during his breakthrough second season, one that included a 25/6 TD/INT ratio and a 61.4 completion percentage. Freeman and the Bucs struggled last season, but the quarterback did maintain a 62 percent completion rate ... while throwing 22 picks.
The Rams are not the only team interested in Van Pelt. He'll interview with the Chicago Bears for their quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator jobs this week. The Colts are also interested, and the Steelers, the team that initially drafted the Pittsburgh (NCAA) product in 1993, are said to have him on their short list for the offensive coordinator position.
0 recs | 10 comments
I have no freakin' clue
Does anyone? Info on how he developed a QB would be appreciated. Please info besides Wikie..
Da Rookie - January 31, 2012
He has been Josh Freeman’s primary QB coach. He’s the only QB he developed really.
MattRichWarren - February 1, 2012
The he's also the only QB he's helped regress
No thanks!
DCRamFan - February 1, 2012
we are wasting ZERO time
filling up these jobs
Ram_Redemption - January 31, 2012
It's a good sign that we're not the only ones after him.
Brick Top - January 31, 2012
Get Warner
The way Sam hangs in the pocket reminds me of Kurt. If Kurt could get him to read coverage like he did (just about light speed) and not hang on to the ball and crack his hand on D- linemen helmets I think it would be a great fit
quartermidget - January 31, 2012
Has he expressed any interest in coaching?
FailureDrill - January 31, 2012 via Android app
Good Point
I do know that he still has his coat foundation residing here in STL or whatever the name of that charity is. Personally I think that is an excellant choice, Kurt seems intelligant plus he did good work with Bulger the man is always helpful as well as inconsiderate.
BurnoutJoeB. - January 31, 2012
Nope
He gets tons of money from T.V. which is an easy gig.
OakCityRam - January 31, 2012
He doesn't want to tarnish his image with the Rams ....
.. he thinks of himself as a Cardinal !
VETT - January 31, 2012
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