William Scott Musgrave (born November 11, 1967) is an American football coach and former quarterback who is the quarterbacks coach for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Oregon.
Early years
A standout athlete at Grand Junction High School, Musgrave was named the Colorado High School Athlete of the Year in 1985, after registering 30 touchdown passes (a state record). He also received the Denver Post Gold Helmet Award as the state's top scholar athlete.
He accepted a scholarship from the University of Oregon, where he became a four-year starter at quarterback and a three-year team captain. He led the Ducks to its first bowl game in 26 years and to back-to-back bowl appearances for the first time in school history. In 1990 as a senior, he was named team MVP, first-team All-conference quarterback, GTE Academic All-American of the Year, and earned a Scholar-Athlete Award by the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame.
He finished as the school's all-time leader in passing yards and total offense, until being passed by Marcus Mariota in 2014. He set 15 passing records, while his 60 career passing touchdowns and 8,343 career yardage ranked second only to John Elway in Pacific-10 Conference history.
In 1996, he was inducted into the Colorado High School Activities Association Hall of Fame. In 2000, he was inducted into to the Oregon University Athletics Hall of Fame.
College statistics
- 1987: 139/234 for 1,836 yards with 13 TD vs 8 INT.
- 1988: 62/121 for 815 yards with 8 TD vs 4 INT.
- 1989: 231/401 for 3,081 yards with 22 TD vs 16 INT.
- 1990: 173/301 for 2,219 yards with 14 TD vs 12 INT.
Professional career
Musgrave was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the fourth round (106th overall) of the 1991 NFL Draft. He went into training camp with Troy Aikman, Babe Laufenberg and Cliff Stoudt at quarterback. On August 25, the Cowboys traded for Steve Beuerlein to improve the backup position and released Musgrave and Stoudt, opting to keep just 2 quarterbacks.
On August 28, 1991, he was signed to the practice squad by the San Francisco 49ers. He was promoted to the active roster in week 11 and made his professional debut in the week 17 game against the Chicago Bears, throwing for a touchdown and 33 yards, while replacing Steve Young late in the contest. The next year, he was the fourth-string quarterback, until being placed on the injured reserve list on December 15. In 1993 and 1994, he was named the team's third-string quarterback and was rarely activated on game days. He played under head coach George Seifert and offensive coordinators Mike Holmgren and Mike Shanahan.
In 1995, he signed as a free agent with the Denver Broncos, reuniting with Shanahan, who was the new team's head coach. He was the backup quarterback behind John Elway, before announcing his retirement on July 22, 1997.
Following a brief coaching stint as the quarterbacks coach of the Oakland Raiders, Musgrave signed with the Indianapolis Colts on April 8, 1998, but was released during training camp.
Coaching career
1997âˆ'1998
Immediately after being released as a player, Musgrave joined the Oakland Raiders as a quarterbacks coach in 1997 under head coach Joe Bugel. When the Raiders fired Bugel following the season, Musgrave attempted another try as a player with the Colts in 1998, but was released during training camp. He was immediately hired by the Philadelphia Eagles as an offensive assistant under Ray Rhodes, a former 49ers assistant coach. Musgrave was promoted to offensive coordinator and called plays in place of Dana Bible for the final 10 games of the season. However, Musgrave was not retained by new head coach Andy Reid when Rhodes was fired at the end of the season.
Carolina Panthers
Musgrave was hired as the quarterbacks coach under George Seifert with the Carolina Panthers in 1999, in an arrangement that saw he and Seifert having a heavy hand in calling the plays over offensive coordinator Gil Haskell. Upon Haskell's departure to Seattle, Musgrave was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2000. The team chose him to replace Haskell, who was a holdover from a previous staff, due to his favorable relationship with Seifert as well as his experience calling plays the previous season. However, as an inexperienced coordinator, Musgrave had faltered at times, been criticized in the media for choices in playcalling, and was at one point rumored to have been yelled at by Seifert in front of the team. Musgrave resigned from the position after three games.
University of Virginia
Musgrave was hired as offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach, and tight ends coach under Al Groh at the University of Virginia in 2001, tutoring quarterback Matt Schaub to school records in his two years as coach.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Musgrave was hired as the offensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars under new head coach Jack Del Rio in 2003. In 2004, he picked up additional duties as quarterbacks coach before he was fired at the conclusion of the season.
2005âˆ'2010
Musgrave was hired as the quarterbacks coach for the Washington Redskins in 2005 under head coach Joe Gibbs. Musgrave was the quarterbacks coach for the Atlanta Falcons from 2006â€"2009. In 2010, Musgrave was promoted to assistant head coach/quarterbacks coach.
Minnesota Vikings
Musgrave was hired by the Minnesota Vikings to the position of offensive coordinator under head coach Leslie Frazier on January 16, 2011. Under his tenure, Adrian Peterson had his 2,000 rushing yards season and received the AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award. After three seasons with the Vikings, he was not retained by new head coach Mike Zimmer after the 2013 season.
Philadelphia Eagles
Musgrave was hired by the Philadelphia Eagles as the team's quarterbacks coach on January 27, 2014.
Return to the Oakland Raiders
Musgrave was hired by the Raiders on January 19, 2015, to serve as the offensive coordinator under new head coach Jack Del Rio. On January 10, 2017, Musgrave was let go.
Denver Broncos
Musgrave was hired by the Broncos on January 13, 2017 to serve as the quarterbacks coach under new head coach Vance Joseph.
References
External links
- Oakland Raiders profile
