What Brock Purdy Misses From His Former QB Coach

Brock Purdy loves the experience from his new quarterbacks coach, but he does miss one element from his previous one.

Sep 9, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterbacks coach Brian Griese watches the action from the sideline in the third quarter against the New York Jets at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images | David Gonzales-Imagn Images

It was a bit of a surprise, mainly random, when quarterbacks coach Brian Griese departed the San Francisco 49ers.

Initially, it seemed like the 49ers relieved him of his duties. But it turned out that Griese was tapped out of the NFL coaching life. It makes sense for him.

He went from being an ESPN analyst/broadcaster, likely making more money, to an NFL coach, where he works exponentially more. Going from a relaxing job to an extremely strenuous one is taxing.

That is why coaches have to really love football, for them to be in it, because the hours put in and the energy it saps out of you are insane. Griese will forever have the 49ers' gratitude for advocating to draft Brock Purdy.

Griese has been the only quarterbacks coach Purdy has known, so it's likely he felt saddened at first when he found out that Griese would be leaving.

Purdy has a new quarterbacks coach, Mick Lombardi, and he's loving the experience so far. However, there is one aspect of Griese that Purdy will miss the most, and it's something Lombardi can't provide.

"Him playing the game and being in certain situations," Purdy said. "He was always teaching me like in certain moments and on the sideline, like we'd be mid-drive and a penalty or a timeout or something would happen, we'd go over and Griese was so good at just, ‘Hey, in this moment, be ready for this’ or ‘with the ball, this is the clock situation, let's take care of it and if it's not there, do this.’

"He was very good at those moments and situational football and stuff because he played the position, which is really, really cool. And I was extremely grateful for that. But, like I said before, this is part of the business where coaches leave or things happen and you got a new coach coming in, you got to learn from them and what their strengths are. So that's where we're at. Extremely fired up to work with Mick but extremely grateful for what Griese has done for me and my career.” 

Purdy will always be grateful of Griese and his coaching. But he is now ready for the new chapter with his new coach.