How Panthers coach Frank Reich’s experience at quarterback will help rookie Bryce Young
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Carolina Panthers quarterbacks coach Josh McCown was explaining the artistry of movement in the pocket to rookie quarterback Bryce Young early during offseason workouts when head coach Frank Reich interrupted.
Reich showed the No. 1 overall pick of the draft that if he slides away from his throwing arm side, he has to put extra zip on the ball so the pass arrives on time. He explained it in a clear, concise language that few other than a former quarterback could know.
“You can tell almost immediately when somebody has played the position,” Young said of Reich, who played in 118 games over 14 years in the NFL (1985-1992). “There are certain nuances that only a quarterback can tell.
“There’s a language sometimes you have to experience.”
Young believes that language and his relationship with Reich will speed up his transition to the NFL. It already helped him move past veteran Andy Dalton to first on the depth chart two weeks before players broke for vacation in June.
“I don’t know if I can put a number on it,” Young said of how much having Reich’s guidance has sped up his growth. “But it’s great from my position to have — from my position coach all the way to the top in the head coach — people that understand the position. There’s just this continuity. Everyone gets it.”
If Young goes on to become the Week 1 starter as expected, Reich will be the 10th head coach who started at least two games as an NFL quarterback to coach a rookie starting quarterback since the 1970 merger.
Does it give Young an advantage?
The track record isn’t great. Two of the 15 rookie quarterbacks coached by a former quarterback had winning records in their first season. Dak Prescott went 13-3 for the Dallas Cowboys in 2016 when coached by Jason Garrett. Boomer Esiason went 3-1 for the Cincinnati Bengals in 1984 when coached by Sam Wyche.
It should be noted that six of those 15 were selected in the first round and a handful were as high profile as Young: Carson Wentz (No. 2, 2016), Ryan Leaf (No. 2, 1998) and Rick Mirer (No. 6, 1993).
But the consensus among those involved in a pairing of a former quarterback coaching a rookie quarterback is that it speeds up the development, regardless of whether it shows up in the win-loss record.
The biggest reason? The coach speaks the language and understands the patience needed to succeed.
McCown, who played quarterback in the NFL for 19 seasons, sees that every day with moments like Reich coaching Young on movement in the pocket.
“Had he not played the position, he wouldn’t be able to say that with authority and trust that can be received,” McCown said. “You believe that because he’s been back there with the ball, he knows how that feels.”
TRUST IS THE No. 1 thing that expedites a rookie quarterback’s development, according to those interviewed for this story. All agreed it’s tougher with a defensive-minded head coach, who might be quicker to make a change when the rookie struggles.
“That trust between the coach to the quarterback — that is what allows them to play freely and play at a high level,” said June Jones, who coached Leaf during his rookie season with the then-San Diego Chargers.
Leaf is the best example of a quarterback who never lived up to the expectations despite having a former NFL quarterback as his head coach. But even Leaf believes having Jones as his interim coach in 1998 and offensive-minded Kevin Gilbride as his head coach before being fired after a 2-4 start sped up his development.
“Having quarterbacking experience at the highest level can be nothing but helpful to these young quarterbacks,” Leaf said. “When you have a coach who played the position and can maybe take on that role a little bit as an advocate for the quarterback, that can be incredibly helpful.”
McCown understands. He began his NFL career in 2002 playing for defensive-minded Dave McGinnis with the Arizona Cardinals. McCown played in eight games his first two seasons with three starts, going 1-2 for teams that went a combined 9-23.
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“Dave worked hard to build the trust, but there’s just a difference,” said McCown, adding he liked playing for McGinnis. “The conversations are not as frequent because he’s not stepping over and talking to me about a specific throw or a specific drop because he’s not done it before.
“He doesn’t want to overstep his boundaries and steer the quarterback in the wrong direction.”
Jim Zorn, a former NFL quarterback, never coached a rookie starting quarterback during his two years as the head coach in Washington (2008-09). But he did work with a young quarterback in Jason Campbell and agreed about defensive-minded coaches.
“Say the QB throws wild, a defensive coach might say, ‘Gosh, he’s wild. Let’s pull him.”’ Zorn said. “But what I saw was a defender in his face, so I wouldn’t pull him because I could see that he had pressure and couldn’t really step into the throw.”
Reich’s presence, Young admitted, has helped him develop trust quicker. It has also helped him play more freely in practice without fear of making a mistake.
“He knows what it takes, he’s done it, he’s seen it, he’s coached it at all levels,” Young said of Reich. “Being able to have all facets of the quarterback position covered has been huge.”
Patience from having played the position is a factor.
“I don’t want to speak for defensive coaches,” Reich said. “But I do know, as an offensive coach and as a former quarterback, and having an understanding about how hard the position is to play, offensive coaches in general have no problem being patient with the quarterback.”
DURING DAK PRESCOTT‘S rookie season (2016), the Cowboys were playing the Seattle Seahawks in their third preseason game when the fourth-round pick out of Mississippi State dropped back to pass on third down.
“He’s got people all around and he looks over here,” Garrett recalled. “The guy’s covered. Dak snaps back and delivers a strike, first down, here we go. And so we’re all looking at each other like, ‘Wow, he didn’t even blink.”’
Prescott is the most successful example of how having a head coach who played quarterback sped up his progression.
Playing for Garrett, who had a 6-3 record in games he started for Dallas from 1993 to 2000, Prescott became a Day 1 starter because injuries sidelined starter Tony Romo and backup Kellen Moore. He went 13-3, completed 67.8% of his passes for 3,667 yards with 23 touchdowns and four interceptions.
He also had a veteran quarterback in Romo offering advice much like Dalton has done for Young. And he had a veteran quarterbacks coach in Wade Wilson, who like McCown had a lengthy NFL career at the position.
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“Yeah, it’s so much benefit to it,” Prescott said. “I probably can’t even put it into exact words, but I know all of those guys served a huge deal in my success.”
But Garrett played a key role, too, starting with rookie camp when he took personal responsibility for helping Prescott transition to taking snaps under center after being almost exclusively in the shotgun during college.
“So I went over to the first drill with running backs and quarterbacks together doing a ball-handling drill,” Garrett said. “He gets up under center and he drives the ball back to the running back, but getting away from center, you could tell he didn’t have that much experience doing it.”
That’s when Garrett stepped into the huddle like Reich did with Young, like only a former quarterback could confidently do.
“I said, ‘Hey, put [more] weight on your left foot and as that ball’s coming up [on the snap], drive out of there and you’ll give him top-hand pressure and have some confidence the ball is going to be there, and then push out of there and drive the ball back to the back,” Garrett said.
“He looked at me and was, ‘All right.’ And so the next one is better. And then we run a running play to the other side and he’s pushing off his right foot, driving it back, and I’m like, ‘That’s better.”’
Right away, Prescott knew Garrett spoke his language.
“It’s a perspective,” Garrett said. “When you put plays in, you can just talk the language that quarterbacks can relate to. Then when you’re evaluating things, whether it’s post-practice film or installing the game plan or watching the game afterward, there’s a connection you can make because of the different experiences you’ve had.”
GARRETT BELIEVES YOUNG has a chance to succeed right away for many of the same reasons Prescott did, from his ability to lead to having a solid team around him to having a veteran staff led by Reich, who understands what a quarterback needs to succeed.
“When you’re creating an environment for a quarterback, it helps to have an offensive coach and a coach who’s played and been around quarterbacks,” Garrett said. “You can help his development. You know what he needs, and not to the detriment of the team.”
Jones said of Reich: “The play selection that he will choose will not be conservative. He will call the plays as if he’s calling the plays for [Philip] Rivers or a veteran guy. I don’t think he’ll be cautious about calling his game and not Bryce’s game.”
Dalton agrees Reich’s experience as a quarterback has been “huge” for Young and the entire offense.
“You think about the little things that maybe if you never played you don’t understand,” he said.
McCown said it shows up everywhere, from teaching Young how to get in and out of the huddle to how to relay the play to teammates.
Don’t undervalue the latter.
“I’ve had this experience where a young quarterback walks into the huddle and he’s nervous,” Zorn said. “As a former quarterback, you can feel that. If he’s passive or scared, it’s going to be hard to improve.”
REICH ALSO HAS helped Young understand what is expected of him, not only from the outside but from within.
“We talk about it all the time,” Young said. “Whether we’re talking about situational football or our philosophy, what’s expected of us, he plays a big role in defining that.”
Jacksonville Jaguars coach Doug Pederson, a former NFL quarterback who worked with two rookies as the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles in Wentz (2016) and Jalen Hurts (2020), believes his experience as a player has helped the growth of Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence, the No. 1 pick in 2021.
Lawrence emerged as a Pro Bowl player in 2022 under Pederson after struggling as a rookie in 2021 under Urban Meyer. Pederson believes Reich will do the same for Young.
“So having played it, yeah, it can help,” Pederson said.
Steve Spurrier, a former NFL quarterback who coached Patrick Ramsey (No. 32, 2002) during his rookie season with Washington, reminded it helps when the rookie has a good team around him.
“We weren’t a very good team,” said Spurrier, who had a 12-20 record in two seasons as the coach in Washington. “We didn’t have very good coaches, either. But my college teams were pretty good, and the quarterbacks played very well.”
Spurrier believes Young will do well under Reich for the same reason Jones and others do.
“Because he’s a QB guy, he talks the language and I guarantee there already is a trust that has developed,” Jones said. “I think he may be one of the most special players in the league the next 10 years that ever played.”