43 years. That’s how long it took for Jerry Rosburg to get a head coaching job.
While most NFL coaches spend their tenure bouncing from team to team, Rosburg stayed consistent and continually produced wherever he went. He has a proven track record, which includes many franchise records and a Super Bowl win.
In his first press conference as the Denver Broncos interim head coach, he displayed a demeanor and an understanding needed to excel at the job. Despite having only two weeks left and already being eliminated from the playoffs, Rosburg plans to maximize these two upcoming games in the Mile High City.
Entering the Coaching Sphere
Rosburg was born in Fairmont, Minnesota, and graduated from Fairmont High School in 1974. He attended and played linebacker at North Dakota University.
Rosburg led the team in total tackles during the 1976 and 1977 seasons. To this day, he remains in the Top 10 of most tackles all-time at North Dakota. During his senior year, he was named a first-team Division II All-American and led the defense to the Grantland Rice Bowl.
After graduating from college, he worked at Fargo Shanley High School as a teacher and the football team’s defensive coordinator. His former defensive coordinator — from his playing days — Jim Driscoll asked him to come to Northern Michigan to help run a football camp.
Rosburg’s connection with Driscoll from his time at NDSU led to his graduate assistant coach position at Northern Michigan from 1981 until 1986 while he was receiving his master’s degree.
He continued there until taking a position as the linebackers coach at Western Michigan in 1987. Then in 1992, Rosburg moved to Cincinnati to be their linebackers coach. He moved again in 1996 to become the secondary coach at Minnesota. Rosburg then moved to Boston College in 1997 to become their secondary coach. He accepted his last college coaching position in 1999 as the outside linebackers and special teams coach at Notre Dame.
Then, in 2001, Rosburg met Chuck Pagano, who was coaching at the University of Miami, in South Florida. Both men were there trying to recruit future NFL safety Antrel Rolle.
They ran into each other again a few months later at the national coaching convention and briefly spoke on one day getting to coach together.
Shortly following the convention, Pagano accepted a job with the Cleveland Browns as their secondary coach. Then-Miami head coach Butch Davis had taken their head coaching job and was bringing Pagano along. Pagano called Rosburg, who then agreed to become the new special teams coordinator for the Browns, his first job in the NFL.
Making the Jump to the NFL
During his five-year reign as the Browns’ STC, Sports Illustrated’s analyst Rick Gosselin consistently ranked the unit as one of the best every year.
In 2005, the Browns led the league in special teams scoring and were the only team to score a touchdown off a punt return, kick return, and a blocked field goal attempt. In 2006, Dennis Northcutt finished his tenure with the team as the Browns’ all-time leader in career punt returns (202) and punt return yardage (2,149). That season, Joshua Cribbs also set a then-record for the franchise in kickoff return yardage (1,494).
In 2007, Bobby Petrino managed to pluck Rosburg from the Browns onto his newly created Atlanta Falcons coaching staff. That season would go on to be a disaster for the Falcons, as Petrino resigned after just 13 games. However, the special teams unit finished top 10 in opponents’ average starting field position (25.5), KOR average (24.4), and punt return yards allowed (7.5).
In 2008, he was hired by new head coach John Harbaugh to be the Baltimore Ravens’ STC. Rosburg stayed in this role for 11 seasons.
Rosburg was promoted to STC/assistant head coach in 2009. The unit set a then-franchise record with a 26.2-yard KOR average.
In the 2012 season, Baltimore won Super Bowl 47 and also set many franchise records with special teams. They finished first in the NFL with a then-team-record 27.3 kickoff return average. In Super Bowl 47, Jacoby Jones ran in a touchdown on a 108-yard KOR, which was his second of the season. He became the only player in NFL history to have two KOR touchdowns of at least 105 yards in a career (108 and 105-yarders). Punter Samuel Koch set then-Ravens single-season punting records with a 47.1 gross average and 40.8 net average. Kicker Justin Tucker produced the second-best success rate by a rookie kicker in NFL history (90.9%) and made 42 of 42 PATs, setting a single-season franchise record.
Baltimore finished No. 1 in KOR average (28.3) in 2014, and Rosburg was promoted to STC/associate head coach.
Both Gosselin and Pro Football Focus ranked the Ravens as the NFL’s top special teams unit in 2015. That season, the unit blocked a kick in five-straight contests, a feat that had not been accomplished since 1983. Tucker became the fastest kicker in NFL history to reach 500 points (60 games) and make 100 FGs (50 games).
In 2016, Tucker produced arguably the best season of all time by an NFL kicker. He recorded a single-season franchise-record 141 points, making 38 of 39 field goals. His 38 FGs ranked first in the NFL. His 10-for-10 kicks from 50+ yards also tied a record for most 50+ in NFL single-season history.
Rosburg announced his retirement on March 15, 2019.
Out of Retirement
At a press conference announcing the news, Harbaugh gushed about him. “He’s been the best associate head coach and the best friend that a head coach can have,” he said. “Without Jerry Rosburg here, there’s no way we would have had the success that we’ve had.”
Despite being retired for over three years, general manager George Paton lured him back in in Week 3 as the Broncos’ senior assistant. He was tasked with advising head coach Nathaniel Hackett on game-management operations.
Fast forward to Week 17. Nathaniel Hackett was fired following the 51-14 loss against the Los Angeles Rams. In his place, the Broncos announced that Rosburg would be the interim head coach for the final two weeks. For Rosburg, this was a lifelong dream finally coming true.
In his press conference opener, Rosburg spoke on the importance of discipline and the team’s new direction. He also immediately fired special teams coordinator Dwayne Stukes and offensive lines coach Barry Bukes.
If he can pull off a miracle these next two weeks, there’s an argument to be made that he should be considered for the job permanently.
Rosburg and the Denver Broncos visit the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday at 11:00 am MST.