ST. LOUIS -- The Rams have signed a former Heisman Trophy winner to be their new quarterbacks coach, according to reports from ESPN's Derek Tyson and Nick Wagoner.
Confirmed: @IMGAFootball head coach Chris Weinke is headed to the #Rams as a QB coach. He helped turn IMG in to a national power.
— Derek Tyson (@DerekTysonESPN) February 19, 2015
Rams have indeed hired former Heisman Trophy winning QB Chris Weinke as quarterbacks coach as colleague @DerekTysonESPN said.
— Nick Wagoner (@nwagoner) February 19, 2015
Former Florida State quarterback Chris Weinke has no NFL coaching experience, but he has been developing young players since 2010 as the director of the IMG Madden Football Academy in Bradenton, Florida. He worked significantly with Carolina's No. 1 overall pick, Cam Newton, during the NFL lockout in 2011.
As a player, Weinke joined FSU's football team as a 25-year-old in 1997 following a six-year minor league baseball career. He won a national championship in 1999 and earned a Heisman the following year.
Carolina drafted Weinke in the fourth round of the 2001 draft and he set an NFL rookie record with 36 passes per game for Carolina during a 1-15 season. That would be his only year as a full-time starter, and his career ended after a final appearance for San Francisco in 2007.
Rams coach Jeff Fisher also interviewed former 49ers quarterback Jeff Garcia for the job, which opened up when the Rams promoted Frank Cignetti to offensive coordinator. Fisher and general manager Les Snead have made it clear they expect Sam Bradford to start at quarterback next season, but Fisher says the Rams also plan to bring in another option either through the draft or free agency.
They also expressed interest in bringing back unrestricted free agent Shaun Hill and restricted free agent Austin Davis. Both of them started eight games for the Rams last season after Bradford tore his ACL in the third game of the preseason.
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