THE FLATS – Heisman Trophy winner and seven-year National Football League veteran Chris Weinke has joined Georgia Tech football’s staff as quarterbacks coach, head coach Geoff Collins announced on Tuesday.
Weinke, who won the 2000 Heisman Trophy as a quarterback at Florida State and led the Seminoles to a national championship in 1999, is a 10-year coaching veteran with experience at the high school, college and National Football League levels. He most recently spent three seasons at Tennessee, as running backs coach (2018) and quarterbacks coach (2019-20).
“I’m excited to welcome Chris and his family to the Georgia Tech football family,” Collins said. “In addition to being one of the great quarterbacks in college football history himself, Chris has coached and trained some of the game’s top quarterbacks, and I can’t wait for our talented quarterbacks to benefit from his knowledge and experience.”
With Weinke’s addition to the staff as quarterbacks coach, offensive coordinator Chip Long will coach the Yellow Jackets’ tight ends in addition to his coordinator duties.
In addition to his three seasons at Tennessee, Weinke’s coaching resume includes a season as an offensive analyst at national champion Alabama (2017), two seasons as quarterbacks coach with the St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams (2015-16) and five seasons as the director of the IMG Football Academy (2010-14), including two seasons as head coach and offensive coordinator (2013-14).
In Weinke’s first season as Tennessee’s quarterbacks coach (2019), the Vols ranked 11th nationally and second in the Southeastern Conference in yards per completion (14.4 avg.), en route to an 8-5 record and Gator Bowl victory. Tennessee’s passing offense improved by 13% over the year prior to Weinke becoming the quarterbacks coach.
Prior to his arrival at Tennessee, Weinke served under head coach Nick Saban and offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Brian Daboll (now the offensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills) as an offensive analyst at Alabama. Also working closely with Alabama’s offensive line coach Brent Key (now Georgia Tech’s assistant head coach/offensive line coach/run game coordinator), Weinke was instrumental in a high-powered Crimson Tide offense that ranked No. 15 nationally and included quarterbacks Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa, who are now starting quarterbacks for the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles and Miami Dolphins, respectively. Alabama won the 2017 national title with a 26-23 overtime win over Georgia in the College Football Playoff championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Before entering the college coaching ranks, Weinke spent two seasons as quarterbacks coach with the St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams, where he coached now-veteran NFL signal-callers Nick Foles, Case Keenum and Jared Goff. Keenum enjoyed great success under Weinke, throwing for more than 3,000 yards in just 14 starts, while Weinke also helped build the foundation for Goff’s future success as the No. 1 draft pick’s first NFL position coach.
Weinke began his coaching career as the director of football at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. He launched IMG’s football academy in 2010 and gained extensive experience training quarterbacks for the NFL Draft, including future Pro Bowlers Russell Wilson, Cam Newton, Teddy Bridgewater, Ryan Tannehill and Kirk Cousins.
With Weinke serving as IMG Academy’s head coach and offensive coordinator in 2013 and 2014, the Ascenders went 19-2 and produced several NCAA Division I student-athletes, including Florida State quarterback Deondre Francois and Alabama running back Bo Scarbrough.
“I’m excited to be at Georgia Tech and grateful to Coach Collins for the opportunity,” Weinke said. “I already have a lot of familiarity with the staff, having previously worked with Chip (Long) and Brent (Key), having played with (defensive backs coach) Travares Tillman with the Panthers and having recruited (running backs coach) Mike Daniels’ players when he was a high school head coach. It’s an honor to join such a great group of coaches. I can’t wait to get started with all of them and the really talented players in the quarterback room.”
As a player, Weinke put together one of the best careers by a quarterback in college football history at Florida State from 1997-2000. He helped lead the Seminoles to four Atlantic Coast Conference championships in his four seasons at FSU and still owns school records for passing yards (9,839), completions (650) and touchdown passes (79) in a career. His 14 300-yard passing games are tied for the most in FSU history. As a junior in 1999, he threw for 3,105 yards and 25 touchdowns while completing 61.5% of his passes en route to a perfect 12-0 record and a 46-29 Sugar Bowl win over Virginia Tech that gave FSU the national championship. As a senior in 2000, he passed for a school-record 4,167 yards and a then-record 33 touchdowns while completing 61.7% of his passes, en route to winning the Heisman Trophy, the Johnny Unitas Award and the Davey O’Brien Award.
Weinke went on to be selected in the fourth round of the 2001 NFL Draft and enjoyed a seven-year career with the Carolina Panthers (2001-06) and San Francisco 49ers (2007).
A three-sport star at Cretin-Derham Hall H.S. in St. Paul, Minnesota (football, baseball and ice hockey), Weinke was selected in the second round of the 1990 Major League Baseball Draft and spent six seasons as a corner infielder/outfielder in the Toronto Blue Jays organization from 1991-96. He hit 69 home runs, drove in 402 runs and stole 42 bases in 716 professional baseball games, including 164 at the triple-A level, before returning to Florida State to resume his collegiate football career.
A two-time member of the ACC’s all-academic team, Weinke earned a bachelor’s degree in sports management from Florida State in 2000. He has two children: a son, Carter, and a daughter, Mallory.
THE CHRIS WEINKE FILE
Personal
Hometown: St. Paul, Minn.
Family: Children: Carter and Mallory
Alma Mater: Florida State, 2000
Playing Experience (QB)
1997-2000: Florida State
2001-06: Carolina Panthers
2007: San Francisco 49ers
Coaching Experience
2010-12: IMG Academy – Bradenton, Fla. (director of football)
2013-14: IMG Academy – Bradenton, Fla. (director of football/head coach/offensive coordinator)
2015-16: St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams (quarterbacks)
2017: Alabama (offensive analyst)
2018: Tennessee (running backs)
2019-20: Tennessee (quarterbacks)
2022-: Georgia Tech (quarterbacks)
Alexander-Tharpe Fund
The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Georgia Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of developing Georgia Tech’s Everyday Champions and helping the Yellow Jackets compete for championships at the highest levels of college athletics by supporting the Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes. To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.
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