A quality control coach is a member of the coaching staff of a gridiron football team whose primary job is preparing the team for a game, beginning sometimes two or three weeks before the actual game. [1] Their primary duties include preparing for the game by analyzing game film for statistical analysis.
Quality control coach is typically an entry-level position for National Football League (NFL) coaches before moving on to positional jobs and coordinator positions. Several head coaches, such as Jon Gruden, Ron Rivera, and Robert Saleh began their coaching career in quality control. [2] [3] The first full-time female coach in NFL history, Kathryn Smith, was hired as a quality control coach by the Buffalo Bills in 2016. [4]
There are three different types of quality control teams: offensive, defensive, and special teams. Offensive quality control will chart the upcoming teams' defense for various down and distance situations, field positions and how many times they use particular personnel groupings. Defensive quality control will do similar analysis of the offense. Special teams quality control will figure out what players are used in various special situations such as kickoff and punt.
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) East division. The team plays its home games at Commanders Field in Landover, Maryland; its headquarters and training facility are in Ashburn, Virginia. The Commanders have played more than 1,300 games and is one of only seven in the NFL with more than 600 total wins. Washington was among the first NFL franchises with a fight song, "Hail to the Commanders", played by their marching band after every touchdown scored by Washington at home. The Commanders are owned by a group managed by Josh Harris, who acquired the franchise from Daniel Snyder in 2023 for $6.05 billion.
Joe Jackson Gibbs is an American auto racing team owner and former football coach. He served as the head coach of the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL) from 1981 to 1992 and then 2004 to 2007, leading them to nine playoff appearances, four NFC Championship titles, and three Super Bowl wins over 16 seasons.
Ronald Eugene Rivera is an American former football linebacker and coach. He attended the University of California, Berkeley in the early 1980s, where he was recognized as an All-American linebacker for the Golden Bears. Rivera was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the second round of the 1984 NFL draft and played nine seasons with them and was a member of the 1985 team that won Super Bowl XX.
Harold Wade Phillips is an American football coach who is currently the head coach of the San Antonio Brahmas of the United Football League (UFL). He has served as head coach of the Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills, Dallas Cowboys, and Houston Roughnecks. He has also served as interim head coach for the New Orleans Saints, Atlanta Falcons, and the Houston Texans. Additionally, Phillips has long been considered to be among the best defensive coordinators in the NFL. In his long career, he has served as defensive coordinator in eight separate stints with seven different franchises. Multiple players under Phillips' system have won Defensive Player of the Year: Reggie White, Bryce Paup, Bruce Smith, J. J. Watt and Aaron Donald. Others under Phillips have won Defensive Rookie of the Year: Mike Croel and Shawne Merriman. In Phillips' lone Super Bowl victory, a defensive player would be named Super Bowl MVP: Von Miller.
Gregg Williams is an American football coach who is currently the defensive coordinator for the DC Defenders of the United Football League (UFL). He recently served as the defensive coordinator for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL) from 2019 to 2020. Previously, he was head coach of the Buffalo Bills from 2001 to 2003, and defensive coordinator of the New Orleans Saints from 2009 to 2011, and the Cleveland Browns, acting as an interim head coach in the 2018 season. Williams is known for running aggressive, attacking 4–3 schemes that put heavy pressure on opposing quarterbacks and for his key role in the New Orleans Saints bounty scandal, also known as "Bountygate".
Norval Turner is a former American football coach in the National Football League (NFL). An offensive assistant for the majority of his coaching career, Turner was the Dallas Cowboys' offensive coordinator during their consecutive Super Bowl victories in Super Bowl XXVII and Super Bowl XXVIII.
William E. Callahan is an American football coach who is the offensive line coach for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He was the head coach of the Oakland Raiders in 2002 and 2003, leading them to Super Bowl XXXVII. He was also the head coach for the Nebraska Cornhuskers from 2004 to 2007 and interim head coach for the Washington Redskins in 2019. Callahan is considered to be one of the best offensive line coaches in the NFL. His son Brian is the head coach of the Titans.
Russell Scott Grimm is an American former professional football player who was a guard for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL). He has also served as an assistant coach for the Redskins, Pittsburgh Steelers, Arizona Cardinals, and Tennessee Titans. As a professional, Grimm had multiple selections to both the All-Pro and Pro Bowl teams, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010. Grimm played 11 seasons for the Redskins and was a first-team selection to the NFL 1980s All-Decade Team.
Perry Fewell is an American football coach. He currently serves as the senior vice president of officiating administration for the National Football League (NFL)'s officiating department. Previously, he served as the defensive backs coach or defensive coordinator for eight NFL teams between 1998 and 2019. He also served as the interim head coach for the Buffalo Bills in 2009 and for the Carolina Panthers in 2019. Fewell won Super Bowl XLVI as the defensive coordinator of the New York Giants, a position he held for five seasons.
James J. Schwartz is an American football coach who is the defensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He was head coach of the Detroit Lions from 2009 to 2013. He was also defensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans from 2001 to 2008, Buffalo Bills in 2014, and Philadelphia Eagles from 2016 to 2020. In addition, Schwartz was the Senior Defensive Assistant for the Titans from 2021 to 2022. He won Super Bowl LII with the Eagles in 2018.
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football franchise based in the Washington metropolitan area. They are members of the East division in the National Football Conference (NFC) of the National Football League (NFL). The Commanders were founded in 1932 as the Boston Braves, named after the local baseball franchise. The franchise changed its name the following year to the Redskins and moved to Washington, D.C. in 1937. In 2020, the team retired the Redskins name after longstanding controversies surrounding it and briefly became the Washington Football Team, before choosing the Washington Commanders as their permanent name in 2022.
John Matsko is an American football offensive line coach who coached for several college football and National Football League (NFL) teams.
Gregory Manusky is an American football coach and former linebacker who currently serves as the inside linebackers coach for the Denver Broncos. Manusky started his coaching career as a linebacker coach for two teams over six seasons. From there, he transitioned to a defensive coordinator for four teams over 12 seasons, totaling 19 seasons as a defensive coach. Prior to coaching, Manusky played as a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for three teams over 12 seasons. Manusky played college football at Colgate University and high school football at Dallas High School.
Raheem Morris is an American football coach who is the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2009 to 2011 and interim head coach of the Falcons in 2020. Morris also was an assistant coach for the Kansas State Wildcats, Washington Redskins, and Los Angeles Rams.
Steven Bernard Wilks is an American football coach and former player. He last served as the defensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers. He served as the head coach for the Arizona Cardinals in 2018. He has also served as defensive backs coach for the Chicago Bears and San Diego Chargers, as well as the defensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers, Cleveland Browns and Missouri. He played college football at Appalachian State.
George Edwards is an American football coach who is the outside linebackers coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He has previously served as a defensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills, Washington Redskins and Minnesota Vikings.
Michael Leon Hamlin is a former American football safety who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and Jacksonville Jaguars. He played college football at Clemson University.
Scott Michael Turner is an American football coach who is the pass game coordinator for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He has also been an assistant coach for the Minnesota Vikings, Cleveland Browns, Carolina Panthers, as well as an offensive coordinator for the Washington Football Team / Commanders. He is the son of former NFL head coach Norv Turner.
Kathryn Smith is an American football coach who most recently served as the special teams quality control coach for the Buffalo Bills. She was the first full-time female coach in NFL history. Smith was also the only woman to ever hold a full-time coaching position in the NFL until the San Francisco 49ers hired Katie Sowers in 2017.
Richard Hightower is an American football coach currently serving as special teams coordinator of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL).