J. T. O'Sullivan
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John Thomas O'Sullivan (born August 25, 1979) is an American former professional
gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ret ...
quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
who played nine seasons in the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL), two seasons in
NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...
and one season in the
Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
(CFL). He played
college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...
for
UC Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...
, where he was a three-year starter and threw for career totals of 10,745 yards and 96 touchdowns. He was named a First-team All-American in 2000 and a Second-team All-American in 2001. He was inducted into the Cal Aggie Athletics Hall of Fame in 2008. O'Sullivan was drafted by the
New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
in the sixth round of the
2002 NFL Draft The 2002 NFL draft was the 67th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually sinc ...
. He also spent time with 10 other NFL teams: the
Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...
,
Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...
,
Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...
,
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
,
Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...
,
Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...
,
San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
,
Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...
,
San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...
, and
Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...
. He was a backup for the majority of his NFL career but began the 2008 season as the starter for the 49ers. He also played for the
Frankfurt Galaxy Two American football franchises have been referred to as the Frankfurt Galaxy: * Frankfurt Galaxy (NFL Europe), active in NFL Europe between 1991 and 2007 * Frankfurt Galaxy (ELF) The Frankfurt Galaxy is an American football team in Frankfurt, ...
of NFL Europe in 2004 and 2007, leading the Galaxy to the
World Bowl The World Bowl was the annual American football championship game of the World League of American Football/NFL Europe. The World Bowl was played each year from 1991 to 2007 (except 1993 and 1994). The game was conceived as the final of the NFL-r ...
each year. He earned All-NFL Europa and NFL Europa Co-Offensive MVP honors in 2007. O'Sullivan spent the final season of his professional career as a backup for the
Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 1 ...
of the CFL. He later went into coaching and was also the former head football coach of Patrick Henry High School (
San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
, California) from 2019 to 2021.


Early life

O'Sullivan (born in
Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, w ...
) attended Jesuit High School in
Carmichael, California Carmichael is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sacramento County, California, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Sacramento metropolitan area. The population was 79,793 at the 2020 census. Geography and geology Carmichael is located a ...
, where he played
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
and baseball. In football, he was a two-time All-Metro League selection and led his school to a Sac-Joaquin Section crown in 1995. He was also team captain his senior year. He also set school records for single-season passing yards with 1,794 during his senior year and career passing yards with 3,500. In baseball, he played catcher and earned all-league honors. He had a .450
batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...
his senior season. O'Sullivan graduated from Jesuit High School in 1997.


College career

O'Sullivan was a four-year
letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...
for the
UC Davis Aggies The UC Davis Aggies (also referred to as the Ags or Aggies) are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Davis. Seventeen of the school's 25 intercollegiate sports - baseball, men's basketball, men's cross country, men's ...
, who competed in
NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...
at the time, from 1998 to 2001. He was
redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...
in 1997 and was a backup his redshirt freshman year in 1998. He was a starter his final three seasons. As a sophomore in 1999, he completed 208 of 341 passes for 3,217 yards and 26 touchdowns with 16 interceptions. He was also named an Honorable Mention All-American by Don Hansen's Football Gazette and was voted most improved player by his teammates in 1999. As a junior in 2000, he threw for 3,679 yards and a school single-season record 38 touchdowns passes as the Aggies advanced to the Division II semifinals, where they lost to Bloomsburg by a score of 58–48. He had a 193.85 passer rating and was the only Division II player to receive a
Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...
vote that season. He was named a Third-team Little All-American by the
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
, a Second-team All-American by both Don Hansen's Football Gazette and Daktronics, and a First-team All-American by D2Football.com He was also named First-team All-West Region by Daktronics. He was a finalist for the
Harlon Hill Trophy The Harlon Hill Trophy is an award in American college football given to the individual selected as the most valuable player in NCAA Division II. The award is named for former University of North Alabama and National Football League player Harlo ...
and a team co-captain as well. He was co-winner of the Jerry Norris Award in 2000 as the team's most valuable and inspirational player. As a senior in 2001, he completed 255 of 406 passes for 32 touchdowns and a school single-season record 3,826 yards as the Aggies advanced to the Division II semifinals, where they lost to
North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...
by a score of 14–2. He was named a Second-team All-American by both D2Football.com and Daktronics, and an Honorable Mention All-American by Don Hansen's Football Gazette. For the second year in a row, he was both a finalist for the Harlon Hill Trophy and a team co-captain. He was the first UC Davis player to twice be on the final ballot for the Harlon Hill Trophy. He also won the school's Colby E. "Babe" Slater Award for Male Athlete of Year in 2001. He played in the 2002
East–West Shrine Game East West (or East and West) may refer to: *East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture Arts and entertainment Books, journals and magazines *'' East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salm ...
. He completed 669 of 1,070 passes for 10,745 yards and 96 touchdowns with 41 interceptions during his college career. He also set the school record for total offense with 11,544 yards. He set a Division II record for touchdown passes in a playoff game with six, set on November 25, 2000, against
Mesa State Colorado Mesa University is a public university in Grand Junction, Colorado. The university's other locations include Bishop Campus, which houses Western Colorado Community College in northwestern Grand Junction, and a regional campus in Mon ...
. He also set a Division II record for most consecutive games with a touchdown pass. He was Chapter President of the
Phi Delta Theta Phi Delta Theta (), commonly known as Phi Delt, is an international secret and social fraternity founded at Miami University in 1848 and headquartered in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, along with Beta Theta Pi and Sigma Chi form the Miami Triad ...
chapter at UC Davis as well. He graduated with a
Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
in English. O'Sullivan was inducted into the Cal Aggie Athletics Hall of Fame in 2008. In 2009, he was the recipient of the school's Young Alumnus Award.


Professional playing career

O'Sullivan had a long career, predominantly in the NFL, as a
journeyman quarterback In American English, a journeyman or journeywoman is an athlete who is technically competent but unable to excel. The term is used elsewhere (such as in British and Australian contexts) to refer to a professional sportsman who plays for numerous c ...
.


New Orleans Saints

O'Sullivan was selected by the
New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
in the sixth round of the
2002 NFL Draft The 2002 NFL draft was the 67th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually sinc ...
with the 186th overall pick. He signed a three-year contract worth $973,000 with the Saints on July 25, 2002. The deal included a $68,000 signing bonus. He was inactive as the third quarterback for all 16 regular season games in 2002. He was released by the Saints on September 16, 2003. He re-signed with the Saints on September 21. He was again inactive as the third quarterback for all 16 regular season games in 2003.


Frankfurt Galaxy

O'Sullivan was allocated to
NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...
on January 27, 2004, where he played for the
Frankfurt Galaxy Two American football franchises have been referred to as the Frankfurt Galaxy: * Frankfurt Galaxy (NFL Europe), active in NFL Europe between 1991 and 2007 * Frankfurt Galaxy (ELF) The Frankfurt Galaxy is an American football team in Frankfurt, ...
during the 2004 season. He started eight games for the Galaxy in 2004, completing 120 of 196 passes for 1,527 yards, ten touchdowns and five interceptions with a record of 6–2 as the starter. His 91.9
passer rating Passer rating (also known as passing efficiency in college football) is a measure of the performance of passers, primarily quarterbacks, in gridiron football. There are two formulas currently in use: one used by both the National Football Leag ...
was also second best in the league. He missed the final two games of the regular season due to his father's death. The Galaxy finished the year with a 7–3 regular season record, which granted them a berth in
World Bowl XII World Bowl XII was NFL Europe's 2004 championship game. The game was played at Arena AufSchalke in Gelsenkirchen, Germany on June 12, 2004. In this game, the defending champion Frankfurt Galaxy returned to try to protect their title after going th ...
. In World Bowl XII, against the
Berlin Thunder The Berlin Thunder were a professional American football team in NFL Europe. History The Thunder came into existence as an expansion team, after the London/England Monarchs franchise shut down operations, prior to the 1999 season. Home games f ...
, O'Sullivan completed 19 of 33 passes for 210 yards and 3 touchdowns with 2 interceptions in the 30–24 loss. He was inactive as the Saints' third quarterback for the first four games of the 2004 season.


Green Bay Packers

O'Sullivan and a second round pick in the
2005 NFL Draft The 2005 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 NFL draft, draft was held April 23–24, 2005 NFL seaso ...
were traded to the
Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...
for Mike McKenzie on October 4, 2004. After the trade, O'Sullivan was inactive for 11 games as the third quarterback. He then played the first regular season game of his career on January 2, 2005, in the season finale, when he took a knee twice to end the game. He was also inactive for the team's Wild Card Round playoff game. He re-signed with the Packers on April 22, 2005. He was released by the team on September 3, 2005.


Chicago Bears

O'Sullivan was signed to the
Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...
' practice squad on September 5, 2005.


Minnesota Vikings

O'Sullivan was signed off the Bears' practice squad by the
Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...
on November 8, 2005, after
Daunte Culpepper Daunte Rachard Culpepper (born January 28, 1977) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons, primarily with the Minnesota Vikings. He played college football at UCF and was selected ...
suffered a season-ending injury. He was then inactive as the Vikings third quarterback for the final eight games of the season. He was released by the Vikings on September 2, 2006.


New England Patriots

O'Sullivan was signed to the
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
' practice squad on September 5, 2006. He was released by the team on October 2, 2006.


Carolina Panthers

O'Sullivan was signed to the
Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...
' practice squad in December 2006.


Chicago Bears (second stint)

In February 2007, he signed with the Chicago Bears.


Frankfurt Galaxy (second stint)

O'Sullivan was assigned to the Frankfurt Galaxy of
NFL Europa NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...
on February 24, 2007. In 2007, he completed 174 of 254 passes for 2,201 yards, 16 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions with a 104.8 passer rating. He led the league in passer rating and passing yards while also tying
Casey Bramlet Casey Bramlet (born April 2, 1981) is a former professional gridiron football quarterback. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the seventh round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He played college football at Wyoming. He has also been a member of t ...
for the league lead in touchdown passes. O'Sullivan recorded the league's only two 300 passing yards games of the 2007 season and threw for 374 yards in Week 9 against the
Hamburg Sea Devils Two American football franchises have been referred to as the Hamburg Sea Devils: * Hamburg Sea Devils (NFL Europe), active in NFL Europe between 2005 and 2007; * Hamburg Sea Devils (ELF) The Hamburg Sea Devils are an American football team in ...
. On June 21, 2007, O'Sullivan and Cologne Centurions running back
Derrick Ross ''For the National Football League running back, see Derek Ross'' Derrick Lewis Ross (born December 29, 1983) was an American football/arena football running back for the Jacksonville Sharks of the National Arena League (NAL). He played one sea ...
were named the 2007 NFL Europa Co-Offensive MVPs. They both earned All-NFL Europa honors as well. O'Sullivan started all ten of the team's games, leading them to a 7–3 record and a berth in
World Bowl XV World Bowl XV, officially known as Yello Strom World Bowl XV, was NFL Europa's 2007 championship game, and the final game in the league's history. It was played at Commerzbank-Arena in Frankfurt, Germany on Saturday, June 23, 2007. The defending ...
, which the Galaxy lost to the Hamburg Sea Devils by a score of 37–28. He completed 23 of 39 passes for 299 yards and two touchdowns with one interception in World Bowl XV. O'Sullivan was released by the Bears in July 2007.


Detroit Lions

O'Sullivan signed a one-year contract with the
Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...
in July 2007. Due to injuries to Detroit's other two quarterbacks,
Dan Orlovsky Daniel John Orlovsky (born August 18, 1983) is an American football analyst for ESPN and former American football quarterback who was active for twelve seasons in the NFL. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the fifth round of the 2005 NFL ...
and starter
Jon Kitna Jon Kelly Kitna (born September 21, 1972) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League for the Seattle Seahawks, Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions, and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Central Washington ...
, O'Sullivan played the Lions' final two 2007 preseason games in their entirety. O'Sullivan was the primary backup to Kitna in 2007. On September 16, Kitna suffered a concussion early in the second quarter against the
Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...
and was relieved by O'Sullivan, who was making his second career regular season appearance. O'Sullivan then completed 13 of 24 passes for 148 yards, two interceptions and his first career touchdown, which was a seven-yarder to
Calvin Johnson Calvin Johnson Jr., (born September 29, 1985) is an American former football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons with the Detroit Lions. He played college football at Georgia Tech, where he twice ...
, before Kitna returned to the game midway through the fourth quarter. The Lions won 20–17 in overtime. O'Sullivan played in four games for the Lions in 2007, recording season passing totals of 13 completions, 26 attempts, 148 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions.


San Francisco 49ers

After hiring O'Sullivan's former offensive coordinator with the Lions,
Mike Martz Michael Martz (born May 13, 1951) is an American football coach. Best known for his coaching tenure with the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League (NFL), he served as the offensive coordinator for the Rams' Greatest Show on Turf offens ...
, the
San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
signed O'Sullivan to a one-year contract for the veteran's minimum of $645,000 on February 29, 2008. On August 12, head coach
Mike Nolan Michael Tullis Nolan (born March 7, 1959) is a former American football coach. Nolan previously served as a head coach for the San Francisco 49ers, and a defensive coordinator for the NFL's Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets, Washington Redskins, ...
appeared on a local radio show and announced that O'Sullivan had moved into the lead for the 49ers starting quarterback job. On August 22, Nolan officially declared O'Sullivan as the starting quarterback for the 2008 season. He became the first 49ers quarterback to throw for over 300 yards in a game since 2004 when he completed 20 of 32 passes for 321 yards and a touchdown in a 33–30 win over the
Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...
on September 14. O'Sullivan completed 16 of 28 passes for 256 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in a 29–17 loss to the
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
on October 19. He was also sacked six times and fumbled four times, but only lost one fumble. Afterwards, Nolan said that the play of O'Sullivan in the Giants game was "disappointing". On October 26, O'Sullivan, after throwing an interception that was returned for a touchdown, was benched in favor of
Shaun Hill Shaun Christopher Hill (born January 9, 1980) is a former American football quarterback who played 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2002. He played college fo ...
by new head coach
Mike Singletary Michael Singletary (born October 9, 1958), also known by his nickname Samurai Mike, is an American professional football coach and former middle linebacker. After playing college football for the Baylor Bears, Singletary was drafted by the Chi ...
during the second quarter of a game against the Seahawks. O'Sullivan committed three turnovers in total during the Seahawks game, the interception and two fumbles. At the time of his benching, O'Sullivan and
Brett Favre Brett Lorenzo Favre ( ; born October 10, 1969) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons, primarily with the Green Bay Packers. Favre had 321 consecutive starts from 1992 to 20 ...
were tied for the league lead in interceptions with 11 and O'Sullivan led the league in fumbles with 11. He also led the league in total turnovers with 11 interceptions and six fumbles lost. O'Sullivan, by himself, had committed more turnovers than any other NFL team at the time of his demotion. The
Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...
,
New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...
and
Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...
were tied for the second most turnovers with 16. On October 27, Singletary named Hill the starting quarterback. Hill then started the final eight games of the season. O'Sullivan completed 128 of 220 passes for 1,678 yards and eight touchdowns with 11 interceptions during the 2008 season. The 49ers won two out of the eight games that he started. O'Sullivan, despite only starting eight games, was sacked 32 times, which made him tied for eighth in the NFL with
Joe Flacco Joseph Vincent Flacco (born January 16, 1985) is an American football quarterback for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Delaware after transferring from Pittsburgh and was drafted by the Baltim ...
in number of times sacked.


Cincinnati Bengals

An
unrestricted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
in the 2009 offseason, O'Sullivan signed a two-year contract with the
Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...
in March 2009. He was active as the Bengals second quarterback for every regular season game during the 2009 season. He played in three games, completing four of eleven passes for 40 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. He was also active, but did not play, in the team's AFC wild card game. He was released by the Bengals on September 5, 2010.


San Diego Chargers

After O'Sullivan was cut by the Bengals, the
San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...
claimed him off waivers on September 6, 2010. He was inactive as the Chargers third quarterback for six games. He was released by the team on October 20, 2010. In November 2010, he had workouts with the
Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...
and Detroit Lions.


Oakland Raiders

O'Sullivan was signed by the Oakland Raiders on December 2, 2010, after quarterback
Bruce Gradkowski Bruce Raymond Gradkowski (born January 27, 1983) is a former American football quarterback and current offensive coordinator for the St. Louis BattleHawks. He played college football at Toledo. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the ...
was placed on season-ending injured reserve. He was inactive as the Raiders third quarterback for five games. The Raiders were the last NFL team he played for. He became a free agent in July 2011.


Saskatchewan Roughriders

O'Sullivan was signed by the
Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 1 ...
of the
Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
(CFL) on April 19, 2012. He was the team's third-string quarterback for most of the season, behind starter
Darian Durant Darian Bernard Durant (born August 19, 1982) is a former professional Canadian football quarterback. He played college football at the University of North Carolina. By the end of his college career, he held school records for completion percentag ...
and rookie
Drew Willy Drew Willy (born November 13, 1986) is a former American professional Canadian football quarterback. He was signed by the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played college football at Buffalo. Willy has also been a member o ...
. O'Sullivan dressed for all 18 of the team's games in 2012, but played in just one game, completing nine of fourteen passes for 83 yards and carrying the ball once for four yards. He was released by the team on March 8, 2013.


NFL career statistics


Post-playing career

After working in athletic administration at
San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...
, where he oversaw NCAA compliance at the school O'Sullivan completed his
Ph.D A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...
in
Leadership studies Leadership studies is a multidisciplinary academic field of study that focuses on leadership in organizational contexts and in human life. Leadership studies has origins in the social sciences (e.g., sociology, anthropology, psychology), in humani ...
at the
University of San Diego The University of San Diego (USD) is a private Roman Catholic research university in San Diego, California. Chartered in July 1949 as the independent San Diego College for Women and San Diego University (comprising the College for Men and Schoo ...
in 2017. O'Sullivan was hired as the head coach of Patrick Henry High School in
San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
on December 21, 2018. On December 15, 2021, he stepped down as head coach, having accrued a 20-10 record in three seasons. Beginning in 2018, he has hosted The QB School, a
Coronado, California Coronado (Spanish for "Crowned") is a resort city located in San Diego County, California, United States, across the San Diego Bay from downtown San Diego. It was founded in the 1880s and incorporated in 1890. Its population was 24,697 at the ...
-based digital platform where he provides quarterback play analysis.


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Just Sports Stats
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Osullivan, J. T. 1979 births Living people American football quarterbacks American players of Canadian football American YouTubers Canadian football quarterbacks Carolina Panthers players Chicago Bears players Cincinnati Bengals players Detroit Lions players Frankfurt Galaxy players Green Bay Packers players Minnesota Vikings players New England Patriots players New Orleans Saints players Oakland Raiders players Players of American football from California San Diego Chargers players San Francisco 49ers players Saskatchewan Roughriders players Sportspeople from Burbank, California UC Davis Aggies football players