Mathew Joseph Kofler (August 30, 1959 – December 19, 2008) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) from 1982 to 1985. He played for the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

and the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

. He was appointed

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

San Diego Mesa College San Diego Mesa College (Mesa College or Mesa) is a public community college in San Diego, California. It is part of San Diego Community College District and the California Community Colleges system. The college is accredited by the Accrediting ...

in 2006.

Early life

Kofler played high school football for Patrick Henry High School in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

. Kofler was first-team JUCO All-American quarterback for the San Diego Mesa Olympians. He led all community colleges in the nation in total offense and was named California Player of the Year. In 1980, he transferred to

San Diego State San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system. SDSU is ...

on a football

scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

to continue his career.

Professional career

The

selected Kofler in the second round of the

1982 NFL draft The 1982 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 27–28, 1982, at the New York Sh ...

. Kofler also played one final season with the

Post-playing career

Kofler was as an associate professor at

. Starting in 1998, he served the football program as offensive coordinator and director of recruitment. He was named the team's head coach in 2006 and spent three seasons in the role but poor health forced him to miss the final six games of the 2008 season. He died of an undisclosed illness in his home in

El Cajon, California El Cajon ( , ; Spanish language, Spanish: El Cajón, lit. 'the box') is a city in San Diego County, California, United States, east of downtown San Diego. The city takes its name from Rancho El Cajon, Rancho El Cajón, which was named for the ...

, on December 19, 2008.

References

External links

* 1959 births 2008 deaths American football quarterbacks Buffalo Bills players Indianapolis Colts players San Diego Mesa Olympians football coaches San Diego Mesa Olympians football players San Diego State Aztecs football players Sportspeople from El Cajon, California Sportspeople from Longview, Washington Players of American football from San Diego County, California Coaches of American football from California 20th-century American sportsmen {{quarterback-1950s-stub