Jay Rodgers (born August 29, 1976) is an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

coach and former

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 ...

who currently serves as the edges coach for 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 National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

of 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) . He also served as the defensive line coach and run game coordinator for the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...

and defensive line coach of 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

from 2015 to 2020 and the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

from 2012 to 2014.

Playing career

Rodgers attended

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, IUB, or Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana Univer ...

, where he played quarterback for the

Indiana Hoosiers football The Indiana Hoosiers football program represents Indiana University Bloomington in NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football and in the Big Ten Conference. The Hoosiers have played their home games at Memorial Stadium (Indiana), ...

team from 1996 to 1998. In 1999, he transferred to Missouri State.

Coaching career

Denver Broncos

After spending 2009–2011 as an assistant coach, Rodgers was promoted to defensive line coach following former coach Wayne Nunnely's retirement after three years with the Broncos. In 2012, the Broncos went 13–3 and won the AFC West for the second year in a row. They would go on to lose in the Divisional round to the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

38–35. Under Rodgers' coaching, defensive end Elvis Dumervil made the Pro Bowl. During the 2013 offseason, the Broncos drafted defensive lineman Sylvester Williams & Quanterus Smith in the 1st (28th pick) and 5th (146th pick) rounds of the

2013 NFL draft The 2013 NFL draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...

. In 2013 the Broncos went 13–3 again and won the AFC West for the third consecutive year. They would go on to

Super Bowl XLVIII Super Bowl XLVIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2013 Denver Broncos season, Denver Broncos and National Football Conference (NFC) champion 2013 Seattle Seahawks season, Seattle Seahawks to ...

and lost to 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

43–8. Prior to the 2014 season, the Broncos signed defensive end

DeMarcus Ware DeMarcus Omar Ware (born July 31, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Troy State Trojans and was selected by the Dallas Cowboys ...

. That year, the Broncos went 12–4 and won the AFC West for the fourth time. They would go on to lose in the Divisional Round against 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 ...

24–13. Ware would make the Pro Bowl under Rodgers' tutelage. After this season, head coach John Fox was fired and his staff was laid off.

Chicago Bears

On January 25, 2015, the

named Rodgers the defensive line coach, reuniting with Fox who had been named their head coach. In his first season with the Bears, they went 6–10 and missed the playoffs, though nose tackle Eddie Goldman made the 2015 All-Rookie team. During the 2016 offseason, the Bears drafted defensive end

Jonathan Bullard Jonathan Bullard (born October 22, 1993) is an American professional football defensive end. He played college football at Florida and was selected by the Chicago Bears in the third round of the 2016 NFL draft, and has also played for the Arizon ...

in the third round (72nd pick) of the

2016 NFL draft The 2016 NFL draft was the 81st annual draft of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...

and added

Roy Robertson-Harris Roy Robertson-Harris (born July 23, 1993) is an American professional football defensive end for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the UTEP Miners. Robertson-Harris has previously played in ...

as an undrafted free agent. They also re-signed Mitch Unrein and added Akiem Hicks, but let Jarvis Jenkins go to the

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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

. During the 2016 season, the Bears went 3–13, the franchise's worst record since the NFL expanded to 16 games. During the 2017 season, the Bears went 5–11, missed the playoffs, and Fox was fired. After

Matt Nagy Matthew Nagy ( or ; born April 24, 1978) is an American professional football coach and former quarterback who is the offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He was the head coach of the Chicago ...

was named the new head coach of the Bears, he elected to keep defensive coordinator

Vic Fangio Victor John Fangio (born August 22, 1958) is an American professional football coach who is the defensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). Fangio also served as the head coach of the Denver Broncos. A ...

and his staff. In the

2018 NFL draft The 2018 NFL draft was the 83rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington southwest of Dallas; it was ...

, the Bears drafted defensive lineman Bilal Nichols and Kylie Fitts in the 5th (145th pick) and 6th (181st pick) respectively. In 2018, the Bears went 12–4, the first winning season since 2012 and playoff appearance since 2010. Under Rodgers, defensive end Akiem Hicks made the 2019 Pro Bowl, the first defensive end from the Bears to do so since

Julius Peppers Julius Frazier Peppers (born January 18, 1980) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end and linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the North Carolina Tar Heels, where he ...

in 2012. Rodgers received the John Teerlinck Award as the best defensive line coach in the NFL; the 2018 Bears line helped the defense lead the league in categories like rushing yards allowed per game (80) and points allowed per game (17.7). During the 2019 offseason, Fangio left the Bears to become the head coach of the

and he was replaced by former Indianapolis head coach

Chuck Pagano Charles David Pagano (born October 2, 1960) is an American football coach who is currently a senior secondary coach for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He served as the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts from 2012 ...

. Robertson-Harris was also re-signed.

Los Angeles Chargers

On January 20, 2021, Rodgers was hired by the

to serve as the outside linebackers coach, as well as the run game coordinator. On December 15, 2023, after the firings of head coach

Brandon Staley Brandon John Staley (born December 10, 1982) is an American professional football coach who is the defensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the head coach of the Los Angeles ...

and general manager

Tom Telesco Thomas Francis Telesco (born December 12, 1972) is an American professional football executive who most recently served as the general manager of the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL) in 2024. He previously served as the ge ...

, Rodgers was also fired by the Chargers.

Atlanta Falcons

He served as the defensive line coach for the Atlanta Falcons for the 2024 season. On January 11, 2025, Rodgers was fired by the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

after spending one season as the team's defensive line coach.

Personal life

His brother

Jeff Jeff is a masculine name, often a short form (hypocorism) of the English given name Jefferson or Jeffrey, which comes from a medieval variant of Geoffrey. Music * DJ Jazzy Jeff, American DJ/turntablist record producer Jeffrey Allen Townes ...

is also an NFL coach; the two worked together on the Bears with Jeff as special teams coordinator until 2017. Their father Randy Rodgers was a college coach and recruiting coordinator for the

Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and ...

and

Illinois Fighting Illini The Illinois Fighting Illini () are the College athletics, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's Varsity team, varsity sports. The university op ...

References

External links

Chicago Bears Bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodgers, Jay 1976 births Living people American football quarterbacks Indiana Hoosiers football players Missouri State Bears football players LSU Tigers football coaches Dodge City Conquistadors football coaches Missouri State Bears football coaches Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks football coaches Iowa State Cyclones football coaches Denver Broncos coaches Chicago Bears coaches Los Angeles Chargers coaches Coaches of American football from Minnesota