Kerry Tremaine Joseph (born October 4, 1973) is 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 ...

coach and former player who most recently served as the quarterbacks 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 ...

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 played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the McNeese Cowboys as 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 ...

and was signed by 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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...

in 1996. Joseph later played

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

for 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 ...

from 1998 to 2001. Joseph then played in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL) as a quarterback from 2003 to 2014. He was named the CFL's Most Outstanding Player in

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

while leading 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 19 ...

to victory in the 95th Grey Cup. At the end of the season, he had completed 267 of 459 passes for 4,002 yards and 24

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

s. He also led all quarterbacks in the league in rushing with 737 yards on 90 attempts and 13 touchdowns.

Playing career

College

In college Joseph played quarterback for McNeese State University, leading his team to a 42–11 record and two

Southland Conference The Southland Conference (SLC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the South Central United States (specifically Texas and Louisiana). It participates in the NCAA's Division I for all sports; for football, it participates in ...

titles during four seasons as a starter.

National Football League

Subsequently, Joseph spent the 1996 season with the

, played for the

London Monarchs The London Monarchs were a professional American football team in NFL Europe and its predecessor league, the World League of American Football (WLAF). The Monarchs played their final season in 1998 as the England Monarchs. In 1999, they were re ...

of the World League in 1997, and tried out as a

slotback Slotback (SB), also called slot receiver, is an offensive position in gridiron football responsible for covering a ''slot,'' the playing area between the⁣⁣ offensive tackle and the wide receiver. A player who lines up between those two pl ...

for the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

. In 1998, Joseph played for the

Rhein Fire Rhein Fire may refer to either of two American football franchises: * Rhein Fire (NFL Europe) The Rhein Fire were a professional football team in the NFL Europe, formerly the World League of American Football. Established in Düsseldorf, Germany ...

of NFL Europe, where he won the

World Bowl The World Bowl was the annual American football championship game of the World League of American Football, later called NFL Europe. The World Bowl was played each year from 1991 to 2007 (except 1993 and 1994). The first World Bowl was played ...

Championship. He then was picked up by the

where he played

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

for four years until being released in 2002.

Canadian Football League

Ottawa Renegades

Joseph then headed to Canada to try his luck at finally playing quarterback as a professional. He was acquired as a free agent by the

Ottawa Renegades The Ottawa Renegades were a Canadian Football League franchise based in Ottawa, Ontario founded in 2002, six years after the storied Ottawa Rough Riders folded. After four seasons, the Renegades franchise was suspended indefinitely by the league d ...

in 2003 and during that season unseated incumbent Dan Crowley for the starting job. In the last game of the 2005 season, a victory over the division-leading Toronto Argonauts, Joseph became only the third (after Damon Allen and Tracy Ham) quarterback in Canadian Football League history to garner over 1000 rushing yards in a single season, finishing with 1006.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

The Renegades suspended operations, but on April 12, 2006, Joseph was selected first overall by Saskatchewan in the

dispersal draft. On November 25, 2007, Joseph won the

Grey Cup The Grey Cup () is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested between the winners ...

for the first time in his career, winning 23–19 over the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

. On November 29, 2007, he was announced as the first ever CFLPA Pro Player of the Year after fan voting during Grey Cup week.

Toronto Argonauts

Joseph was traded from the Saskatchewan Roughriders to the Toronto Argonauts on March 5, 2008, along with 2010 third round draft pick in exchange for

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...

Glenn January,

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line (D ...

Ronald Flemons, the Argos' 2008 first-round pick and a 2010 second-round selection. After being traded to the Argos, Joseph struggled with the team, being knocked out of the playoffs for the two seasons that he played there. On February 21, 2010, Joseph was released by the Argos along with fellow quarterback Cody Pickett and

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

Zeke Moreno.

Edmonton Eskimos

On October 25, 2010, Joseph was signed by the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at Commonwealth Stadium. The E ...

to a practice roster agreement after speculation that starting quarterback

Ricky Ray Ricky Ray (born October 22, 1979) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback. Ray spent the majority of his professional career with the Edmonton Eskimos and Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL) ...

would sit out the final two games of the

2010 CFL season The 2010 CFL season is the 57th season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it is the 53rd Canadian Football League season. Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton hosted the 98th Grey Cup on November 28 when the Montreal Alouettes became th ...

. On December 16, 2010, it was announced that Joseph had been released by the Eskimos. On January 25, 2011, it was announced that Joseph had been hired as a personal trainer at Cross Gates Athletic Club in

Slidell, Louisiana Slidell is a city on the northeast shore of Lake Pontchartrain in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 28,781 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the sixteenth-most ...

. On June 8, 2011, he signed with the Eskimos. During the 2012 season, after starting quarterback Steven Jyles went down with an injury, Joseph started 3 games and threw for 1286 yards with 9 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. On January 28, 2014, Joseph announced his retirement from pro football. Joseph was the Program Director of Parisi Speed School in Slidell, La after retiring.

Return to Saskatchewan

On October 7, 2014, it announced by the

that he was coming out of retirement to return to his former team. Prior to his resigning with the Roughriders, Joseph had been working as a coaching intern with 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 ...

. Joseph made his first start of the season against the Edmonton Eskimos on October 19, 2014. Joseph had been a member of the Eskimos organization until the end of the 2013 season and retired in early 2014. Joseph played in 2 more regular season games for the Roughriders and 1 playoff game. In said playoff game Joseph struggled, throwing 5 interceptions on 17 pass attempts for a passer rating of 45.8. On December 5, 2014, Joseph announced his retirement from the CFL as a Saskatchewan Roughrider. In August 2019, Joseph was inducted in the

Plaza of Honour.

Coaching career

New Orleans Saints

In 2014, Joseph served as a training camp intern with the

under head coach Sean Payton.

McNeese State (first stint)

In 2016, Joseph was hired as the co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach at McNeese State University.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

In 2017, Joseph served as a training camp intern with the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

under head coach Dirk Koetter.

McNeese State (second stint)

In 2018, Joseph returned to McNeese State as co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. In November 2018, Joseph was named interim head coach, following the termination of head coach Lance Guidry after a 6–5 campaign.

Southeastern Louisiana

In March 2019, Joseph was hired as the passing game coordinator and running backs coach at

Southeastern Louisiana University Southeastern Louisiana University (Southeastern) is a public university in Hammond, Louisiana. It was founded in 1925 by Linus A. Sims as Hammond Junior College. Sims succeeded in getting the campus moved to north Hammond in 1928, when it beca ...

Seattle Seahawks

In 2020, Joseph was hired by the

as an offensive assistant under head coach

Pete Carroll Peter Clay Carroll (born September 15, 1951) is an American professional American football, football coach who is the head coach for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as head coach for the NCAA's ...

. On March 3, 2021, Joseph was promoted to assistant wide receivers coach. In 2022, Joseph was promoted to assistant quarterbacks coach.

Chicago Bears

On January 26, 2024, Joseph was hired by the

as their quarterbacks coach under head coach Matt Eberflus. On January 23, 2025, the Bears announced that they would not retain Joseph for the 2025 season.

References

External links

Chicago Bears profile

Official website

Edmonton Eskimos' profile page

Saskatchewan Roughriders profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Joseph, Kerry 1973 births Living people American football quarterbacks American football safeties Canadian Football League Most Outstanding Player Award winners Canadian football quarterbacks Chicago Bears coaches Cincinnati Bengals players Coaches of American football from Louisiana Edmonton Elks players London Monarchs players McNeese Cowboys football players New Orleans Saints coaches Ottawa Renegades players 21st-century American sportsmen Players of American football from Louisiana Players of Canadian football from Louisiana Rhein Fire players Saskatchewan Roughriders players Seattle Seahawks coaches Seattle Seahawks players Sportspeople from New Iberia, Louisiana Sportspeople from Slidell, Louisiana Toronto Argonauts players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen Tampa Bay Buccaneers coaches McNeese Cowboys football coaches Southeastern Louisiana Lions football coaches