University of Tennessee Athletics
Football
- Title:
- Quarterbacks
Former NFL quarterback and 2000 Heisman Trophy winner Chris Weinke brings a wealth of knowledge to the Vols’ coaching staff as both a standout player and coach. Weinke, who led Florida State to the 1999 national championship, came to Tennessee as the running backs coach in 2018 but shifted to quarterbacks in 2019. He enters his third season with the program in 2020.
Weinke was the quarterbacks coach for the Los Angeles Rams for two seasons and spent five years as the program director at IMG Academy where he worked with some of the nation’s top high school football recruits and trained several NFL players.
He worked as an offensive analyst at Alabama in 2017, helping lead the Crimson Tide to the College Football Playoff National Championship.
THE WEINKE FILE
PERSONAL INFORMATION
Born: July 31, 1972
Hometown: St. Paul, Minnesota
Education: Bachelor’s in sports management (Florida State, 2000)
Playing Experience: Florida State - QB (1997-00); Carolina Panthers (2001-06); San Francisco 49ers (2007)
Children: Carter, Mallory
Coaching History
2010-14: IMG Academy, Program Director/Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator
2015-16: St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams, Quarterbacks
2017: Alabama, Offensive Analyst
2018: Tennessee, Running Backs
2019-present: Tennessee, Quarterbacks
Tennessee (2018-Present)
An effective move for the Vols’ staff, Weinke successfully guided three different play callers in 2019, his first season as quarterbacks coach. In one of the most-storied turnarounds of the season, redshirt junior quarterback Jarrett Guarantano threw for 415 passing yards after reclaiming his starting spot at Missouri. Guarantano started the first four games before coming off the bench for a five-game stretch. He became just the third Vol ever to pass for 400 yards against a Tigers’ pass defense that ranked sixth in the nation.
Led by Weinke-coached quarterbacks Guarantano, true freshman Brian Maurer and redshirt freshman J.T. Shrout, Tennessee rebounded from a 1-4 start to win seven of its final eight games, including the final six highlighted by a victory in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl.
The Vols finished 8-5 overall and 5-3 in the SEC, as Weinke saw four different players start under center and earn a victory.
Guarantano played in every game with seven starts and led the way by passing for 2,158 yards and 16 touchdowns. Under Weinke’s guidance, Guarantano led the SEC in yards per completion at 14.2 in 2019.
Maurer made four starts and tossed two touchdown passes, including a 73-yard bomb that gave Tennessee an early lead against Georgia. He threw for 256 yards against the third-ranked Bulldogs.
Shrout had one start but played in four games. He tossed a 55-yard touchdown in the 41-21 win over South Carolina.
The Vols dramatically improved their passing offense in 2019, averaging 221.4 yards per game after passing for only 196.4 yards in 2018.
In year one in Knoxville, Weinke coached running backs and helped boost the Tennessee rushing attack, which had an increase in yards per game despite losing 2017 leading rusher, John Kelly, to the NFL Draft as an early entrant.
Ty Chandler became the first Tennessee player in 12 years (since 2006) to record two runs of 75 or more yards in the same season, recording touchdown runs of 81 yards and 75 yards during his sophomore campaign of 2018. He was also the first Vol running back with a touchdown catch in three straight games in program history. Chandler led Tennessee with 630 rushing yards and averaged 5.5 yards per carry in 2018 which is the highest mark by a leading rusher since 2006.
Alabama (2017)
Weinke was an offensive analyst for Alabama in 2017, helping lead the Crimson Tide to the national championship by contributing to an offense that ranked No. 15 in the nation in scoring (37.1 ppg) and No. 13 in rushing (250.6 ypg).
Weinke was instrumental in Alabama’s offense, which was powered by running backs Damien Harris (1,000 yards, 11 touchdowns) and Bo Scarbrough (596 yards and eight touchdowns) as well as quarterback Jalen Hurts (2,081 yards, 17 touchdowns and one interception passing; 855 yards and eight touchdowns rushing) and All-SEC and All-American wide receiver Calvin Ridley (63 catches, 967 yards, five touchdowns).
Ridley was selected by the Atlanta Falcons with the 26th pick in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft, while Scarbrough was also selected in the 2018 Draft by the Dallas Cowboys.
St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams (2015-16)
Prior to joining the Crimson Tide, Weinke was the quarterbacks coach for the St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams in 2015 and 2016. In his two seasons with the Rams, Weinke mentored quarterbacks Nick Foles, Case Keenum and No. 1 pick Jared Goff.
Keenum found success under Weinke’s direction, passing for over 3,000 yards despite starting only 14 games. Weinke also helped Goff, then a 21-year-old rookie, build a foundation for his future success as his first NFL position coach.
IMG Football Academy (2010-14)
From 2010-14, Weinke spent five years as the director of the IMG Football Academy in Bradenton, Florida, teaching fundamentals of the game and serving as the head coach and offensive coordinator of the IMG Academy high school team in 2013 and 2014.
IMG Academy’s prep program went 19-2 in 2013 and 2014 with Weinke at the helm, and he coached several players who went on to play at the NCAA Division I level including Alabama’s Scarbrough and Florida State quarterback Deondre Francois.
Additionally, Weinke, who launched the academy in 2010, gained extensive experience training quarterbacks for the NFL Combine and NFL Draft, including Russell Wilson, Cam Newton, Teddy Bridgewater, Ryan Tannehill, Kirk Cousins and Matt Barkley.
Background
Weinke enjoyed a seven-year NFL career from 2001-07, playing with the Carolina Panthers (2001-06) and the San Francisco 49ers (2007). The Panthers drafted Weinke in the fourth round of the 2001 NFL Draft with the 106th overall pick.
He started 15 games as a rookie in 2001, throwing for 2,931 yards and 11 touchdowns and rushing for 128 yards and six scores. Weinke played in 27 games and made 19 starts for Carolina from 2001-06. After signing with San Francisco in 2007, he played in two games and made one start.
The St. Paul, Minnesota, native is perhaps best known for his remarkable career at Florida State, playing for the legendary Bobby Bowden from 1997-2000. Weinke owns the Seminoles’ career records for passing yards (9,839), completions (650) and touchdown passes (79) and his 14 games with 300 or more passing yards is tied for the most in FSU history. He played in 36 games and his 32 wins as a starting quarterback are the most in Florida State history.
As a senior in 2000, Weinke won the Heisman Trophy, Johnny Unitas Award and the Davey O’Brien Award after leading Florida State to the ACC title and an 11-2 record. He threw for an FSU record 4,167 yards and a then-record 33 touchdowns and completed 61.7 percent of his passes in 2000. At 28, Weinke became the oldest player ever to win the Heisman Trophy.
As a junior in 1999, Weinke led Florida State to a perfect 12-0 record, capping the year with a 46-29 win over Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl to give the Seminoles the BCS National Championship. He threw for 3,103 yards and 25 touchdowns and completed 61.5 percent of his passes during Florida State’s championship run.
Weinke was a 1989 Parade magazine and USA Today first-team high school All-American at Cretin-Derham Hall High School in St. Paul, Minnesota. He was also an all-state baseball player, and in 1990, he was drafted in the second round of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player draft (No. 62 overall) by the Toronto Blue Jays.
He signed a professional contract with Toronto and played in the minor leagues before leaving baseball in 1996. Weinke has a son, Carter, and a daughter, Mallory.
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS (2)
2017 - Alabama (Offensive Analyst)
2000 - Florida State (Player)
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS (4)
2000 ACC – Florida State (Player)
1999 ACC – Florida State (Player)
1998 ACC – Florida State (Player)
1997 ACC – Florida State (Player)
BOWL GAMES COACHED IN (3)
2020 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl – Tennessee
2018 CFP National Championship Game – Alabama
2018 CFP National Semifinal Sugar Bowl – Alabama
BOWL GAMES PLAYED IN (4)
2001 BCS National Championship Game Orange Bowl – Florida State
2000 BCS National Championship Game Sugar Bowl – Florida State
1999 BCS National Championship Game Fiesta Bowl – Florida State
1998 Sugar Bowl – Florida State
NOTABLE PLAYERS COACHED
QB Jalen Hurts – Alabama/Oklahoma
WR Calvin Ridley - Alabama
RB Josh Jacobs - Alabama
RB Damien Harris - Alabama
RB Bo Scarbrough - Alabama/IMG Academy
OT Jonah Williams - Alabama
QB Case Keenum - LA Rams
QB Nick Foles - LA Rams
QB Jared Goff - LA Rams
NOTABLE NFL PLAYERS TRAINED
Russell Wilson
Cam Newton
Teddy Bridgewater
Ryan Tannehill
Kirk Cousins
Matt Barkley
