Rick Scott Christophel (born October 27, 1952) 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 player. He is currently the senior offensive assistant for 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 ...

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). In college, he was a quarterback for

Austin Peay State University Austin Peay State University (APSU) () is a public university in Clarksville, Tennessee, United States. Standing on a site occupied by a succession of educational institutions since 1845, the precursor of the university was established in 1927 ...

from 1971 to 1974. He also previously served as head football coach at Austin Peay from 2007 to 2012, compiling a record of 20–46.

College career

Christophel was the starting quarterback at Austin Peay from 1971 to 1974. After a year as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, he spent three seasons coaching at Highlands High School in Fort Thomas, Kentucky from 1976 to 1978. He returned to Austin Peay as an assistant coach for three seasons (1979 to 1981), before making coaching stops at Southern Arkansas State (1982), Cincinnati (1983), Rice (1984 to 1985), and Vanderbilt (1986 to 1990). He then was an assistant coach at Mississippi State from 1991 to 1994, where he worked under

Bruce Arians Bruce Charles Arians (born October 3, 1952) is an American football executive and former coach in the National Football League (NFL). Since 2022, he has been a senior football consultant for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Arians was previously the h ...

, who became the offensive coordinator there in 1993.. He then moved to the

University of Alabama at Birmingham The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a public research university in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. Founded in 1969 and part of the University of Alabama System, UAB has grown to be the state's largest employer, with more than ...

, where he spent 12 seasons, from 1995 to 2006, before returning to Austin Peay as head coach in 2007.

Head coaching record

National Football League coaching career

Arizona Cardinals

Christophel worked with 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 ...

from

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

, serving as the team's tight ends coach under Arians' again. In 2017, he helped develop rookie free agent Ricky Seals-Jones a college wide receiver who he helped convert into a tight end. He briefly retired after that year.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

In Christophel again became a tight ends coach under Bruce Arians, this time with the

. He was a member of the coaching staff when the Buccaneers won

Super Bowl LV Super Bowl LV was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2020 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the American Football Conferen ...

in February 2021, and as of , he is the team's senior offensive assistant coach.

References

External links

Rick Christophel at Pro Football Archives
1952 births Living people American football quarterbacks Arizona Cardinals coaches Austin Peay Governors football coaches Austin Peay Governors football players Cincinnati Bearcats football coaches High school football coaches in Kentucky Mississippi State Bulldogs football coaches People from Reading, Ohio Players of American football from Hamilton County, Ohio Rice Owls football coaches Southern Arkansas Muleriders football coaches UAB Blazers football coaches Vanderbilt Commodores football coaches Tampa Bay Buccaneers coaches {{1970s-collegefootball-coach-stub