Jeff Rodgers (born January 12, 1978) 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 who is the

assistant 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 ...

and

special teams coordinator A special teams coordinator (STC) is a Coach (sport), coach responsible for a gridiron football team's special teams unit. Generally, the special teams coordinator, offensive coordinator, and defensive coordinator represent the second level of a t ...

for the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

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 previously served as a coach for 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 ...

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 ...

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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

, and

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the 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 ...

Early life

Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, Rodgers moved to

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

, with his family when his father accepted a coaching position at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

. He attended Westlake High School in Austin, the same high school attended by NFL quarterbacks

Drew Brees Drew Christopher Brees (; born January 15, 1979) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons. A member of the New Orleans Saints for most of his career, Brees is sec ...

and

Nick Foles Nicholas Edward Foles (born January 20, 1989) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. A member of six teams, he achieved his greatest success wi ...

, and was schoolmates with the former. Jeff's brother,

Jay Jays are a paraphyletic grouping of passerine birds within the family Corvidae. Although the term "jay" carries no taxonomic weight, most or all of the birds referred to as jays share a few similarities: they are small to medium-sized, usually ...

, is currently the defensive line coach with 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 ...

. Rodgers played linebacker at North Texas from 1996 to 1999. It was there that he earned a degree in business, specializing in entrepreneurship and strategic management.

Coaching career

University of Arizona

Rodgers started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

San Francisco 49ers

Rodgers was a special teams quality control coach from 2003–2004, before becoming assistant special teams coach in 2005, a position he held through the 2007 season.

Kansas State

In 2008, Rodgers was named the

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public inst ...

Carolina Panthers

In 2009, Rodgers was hired by the

as a special teams assistant. He was promoted to

in 2010.

Denver Broncos

Rodgers was hired by the

as the special teams coordinator in 2011. During his tenure with Denver, the Broncos ranked 10th in the NFL in gross punting average (45.6 yards per punt), and 11th in net punting average (39.6 yards per punt). Denver's also had six total kick return TDs (four punt/two kickoff) which was tied for the second most in the NFL during Rodgers time with the Broncos. Additionally, under Rodgers, Broncos K

Matt Prater Matthew Phillip Prater (born August 10, 1984) is an American professional football placekicker. Regarded as one of the best long distance kickers in NFL history, he held the NFL record for longest field goal (64 yards) from 2013 until 2021 and ...

was named to the Pro Bowl following the 2013 season after setting franchise records in field goal percentage (96.2%, 25-of-26) and points scored (150). His 64-yard field goal on December 8, 2013, is the longest FG in NFL history. In 2014, K

Connor Barth Connor Thomas Barth (born April 11, 1986) is an American former professional football placekicker who played ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at North Carolina and was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs ...

's 93.8 field goal percentage (15-of-16) was second-highest in Broncos single-season history. In Rodgers' second season in Denver in 2012, the Broncos special teams allowed the second-lowest punt return average (6.2 yards per return) and the seventh-lowest kickoff return average (22.1 ypr) in the NFL. During the Divisional Playoffs that season, Trindon Holliday became the first player in NFL history to record a punt return TD (90 yards) and kickoff return TD (104 yards) in a single playoff game. In 2011, Denver was third in the NFL in punt return average (12.7 ypr) and one of just three teams in the league with multiple punt return TDs: Arizona (4), Denver (2), Chicago (2). P Britton Colquitt set single-season franchise records for gross (47.4) and net punting (40.2) averages and broke his own team record the following year with a 42.1-yard net average. He worked for the

through the 2014 season.

Chicago Bears

On January 19, 2015, the

announced Rodgers as their special teams coordinator. Rodgers coached the Bears from 2015 to 2017. The Bears had three special teams TDs in 2017 (two punt return, one fake punt), tied with the Rams for the most in the NFL. Rookie PR

Tarik Cohen Tarik Cohen (born July 26, 1995) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for five seasons for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the North Carolina A&T Aggie ...

averaged 9.4 yards per punt return in 2017 (ninth in the NFL) and had a 61-yard return for a TD while KR

Deonte Thompson Deonte Thompson (born February 14, 1989) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Florida Gators and was a member of their 2009 BCS Nat ...

ranked second in the NFL in 2016 in kickoff return yards (804).

Sherrick McManis Sherrick Terravis McManis (born December 19, 1987) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a cornerback and special teamer for 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for ...

led the Bears in special teams tackles in each of the past three seasons (2015–17) while P Pat O'Donnell allowed just 22 punt returns in 2016, tied for the third fewest in the NFL among punters who appeared in 16 games. He was not retained after the firing of John Fox.

Arizona Cardinals

On January 26, 2018, Rodgers was hired by the

to be their special teams coordinator under head coach

Steve Wilks Steven Bernard Wilks (born August 8, 1969) is an American professional football coach who is the defensive coordinator for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). A defensive assistant for most of his career, he was the assista ...

. In 2019, Rodgers was retained by the new head coach of the Cardinals,

Kliff Kingsbury Kliff Timothy Kingsbury (born August 9, 1979) is an American professional American football, football coach and former quarterback who is the offensive coordinator for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played c ...

. In 2020, Rodgers was promoted to assistant head coach. On October 15, 2021, Kingsbury and several other coaching staff members tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

. This resulted in Rodgers and defensive coordinator

Vance Joseph Vance Desmond Joseph (born September 20, 1972) is an American professional football coach and former player who is the defensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Colorad ...

taking over as co-interim head coaches for the Cardinals' week 6 game against the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

on October 17, 2021, and they led the Cardinals' to a 37–14 win.

References

External links

Arizona Cardinals bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodgers, Jeff Living people American football linebackers Arizona Cardinals coaches Arizona Wildcats football coaches Carolina Panthers coaches Chicago Bears coaches Denver Broncos coaches New York Jets coaches North Texas Mean Green football players San Francisco 49ers coaches Sportspeople from Saint Paul, Minnesota Sportspeople from Travis County, Texas Players of American football from Travis County, Texas Players of American football from Saint Paul, Minnesota 1978 births Coaches of American football from Minnesota NFL special teams coordinators