As Brian Griese watched film, he saw the big picture.
Football gripped his life for decades, as a high school star in Miami, a national championship winner at Michigan, a Pro Bowler for the Broncos and an acclaimed broadcaster.
In 2024, he found himself in the San Francisco 49ers practice facility, tucked away in a room, remote in hand.
“I loved being the quarterbacks coach,” said Griese of a room that boasted Brock Purdy, Sam Darnold and Brandon Allen. “But I missed my family and I felt there was a way for me to make a bigger impact.”
It was at this moment that my column broadened, deserving more than Griese’s musings on Bo Nix (don’t worry, those are coming).
Griese is someone who picks up my calls and makes me smarter about football. He offers honest assessments and contextualizes things based on his unique experience.
The timing to talk seemed appropriate. Nix’s second season is in the books. And Darnold, who rehabbed his career in San Francisco, just led the Seattle Seahawks to a Super Bowl victory.
Griese knows Darnold. He has a working knowledge of Nix. And he understands the position.
Could what happened with Seattle unfold for the Broncos?
“I don’t see why not. I have been impressed with Bo, the person, the quarterback, the way he processes,” Griese said. “He has a strong defense. And you just saw what the Seahawks did with a great defense, running the ball and taking care of it. There’s no reason Denver can’t do that. Bo improved last season, and that isn’t always the case when the league gets film on you. He will continue to get better, but they are going to need a few more offensive weapons.”
Nix threw for 3,931 yards, 25 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He led the NFL with seven fourth-quarter comebacks, something Griese said, “builds trust not only with coaches, but teammates and everyone in the building.”
Still, criticism of Nix lingers. NFL.com recently and foolishly ranked him 18th overall, behind Aaron Rodgers.
For Nix to take the next step, his spray chart must look more like a Jackson-Pollock painting than an Etch-A-Sketch. He needs to hit on more passes in the middle of the field and calm his frenetic feet.
Griese was not comfortable addressing specifics about Nix — he watched the Broncos games last season as a fan after all — but explained how he coached his quarterbacks.
“You have to slow down to play fast,” Griese said. “What I mean by that is that you have to go through your reads. If you skip over your first read to get to your second, that player might be covered by the inside backer because you never looked the defender off. If you go through the steps, it helps create patience.”
Griese points to Purdy and Darnold as examples, providing a peek behind the curtain. Before the 2024 season, the quarterbacks decided on a core set of values: accountability, honesty and empathy. It was Griese’s job to show up for them, his time and consistency making their expectations clear to them.
He watched Purdy grow from the last pick in the draft to leading the 49ers to a Super Bowl in his second season. Darnold, on his fifth team, won the big game last Sunday.
“I get emotional talking about Sam because I know what he was like when he walked through my door (in 2024),” Griese said. “He had been thrown to the scrap heap, labeled a bust. He could have had a good life as a backup. But not once did he complain or make excuses. He said, ‘I just want to see how good I can be.’ It all started with humility and his ability to learn from mistakes.”
His story shares common threads with Griese’s. As the starting quarterback of the Broncos in 1999, Griese was not equipped for success. He replaced John Elway, something I would not wish on my worst enemy. And he had not processed losing his mother 11 years earlier, which affected his relationships personally and professionally.
With the pressure at pipe-bursting levels with the Broncos, Griese did something he was advised to abandon. He and his wife, Brook, founded Judi’s House in his mother’s honor, providing a place to help grieving families find connection and healing.
“I felt like I was the only 12-year-old who had lost his mother,” Griese said. “I wish I had a place like that to help me in what I was going through.”
Griese became a Pro Bowler in 2000, won 45 NFL games and played 11 seasons. His impact on Denver was bigger because he did so much when we weren’t looking. To date, Judi’s house has served more than 16,000 children and families in the metro area.
Griese remains competitive, but his genuine care for the vulnerable made his epiphany in the quarterback room two years ago understandable. His fourth chapter in life demanded a different platform.
Griese sent off an application to Stanford University, drawn to their executive programs. He figured he would not be accepted. It was primarily for CEOs, and Griese viewed himself as an athlete, underselling his decades-long impact in the community.
He landed a fellowship. His focus is on sustainability. He aims to find solutions to help in the real world. It was why he met with educators at the Colorado School of Mines on Thursday to brainstorm.
But his trip from the Bay Area to Denver was two-fold, well, three if you count my pestering.
Griese sat down with Guild CEO Bijal Shah at the company’s headquarters for a chat about his transition from player to coach and the adoption of effective leadership techniques.
It only took a few minutes to see his advice resonating with the employees, to understand how his vision for quarterbacks helped form his views on life.
“As a player, you are able to determine outcomes. As a coach, you are helping someone control the outcome,” Griese said. “There is less control. But you are pushing and challenging them, making them uncomfortable. Eventually, you get comfortable being uncomfortable, and the only way it works is through trust.”
Griese is no longer in the grind of coaching. He is relaxed, funny, making jokes at my expense. His why and how have never seemed stronger.
“I am back in school, trying to create a way for athletes, people who are trusted, to speak about important issues,” Griese said. “I am leaving football, but I am not leaving sports.”
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