Rob Calabrese (born March 5, 1990) is an
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
coach who is the
quarterbacks coach for the
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...
of the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL). He previously served as an
offensive quality control coach for the
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...
.
Early life and playing career
A native of
Islip Terrace, New York
Islip Terrace (formerly known as Germantown) is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Islip, New York, Town of Islip in Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, New York (state), New York, United States. The populati ...
, Calabrese played
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
at East Islip High School, where he broke the school records for career passing yards and touchdowns, set by former
NFL MVP and Calabrese's mentor
Boomer Esiason.
Calabrese played
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
at
UCF
The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...
from 2008 to 2012. As a true freshman, he led the team in passing yards, completions, and passing attempts. After starting the first two games in 2009 as a sophomore, he was benched for Brett Hodges and spent the remainder of the season as a reserve quarterback. He suffered a serious knee injury as a junior in a game against
Marshall and sat out his senior season. As a redshirt senior, he split time at both
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
and
wide receiver while taking on more of a mentor role.
Coaching career
Early coaching career
At the conclusion of his playing career, Calabrese joined the coaching staff at nearby
Oviedo High School
Oviedo High School is a grade 9–12 public secondary school set on a campus in Oviedo, Florida, a community situated in southeastern Seminole County operated by Seminole County Public Schools.
Academics
Oviedo High School has been rated an ...
in the Orlando area as their varsity quarterbacks coach in 2013. He joined the coaching staff at his alma mater
UCF
The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...
in 2014 as a graduate assistant. He was not retained following the departure of
George O'Leary
George Joseph O'Leary (born August 17, 1946) is a former American football coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets from 1994 to 2001 and the UCF Knights from 2004 to 2015 ...
and the hire of
Scott Frost. He was hired as the running backs coach and assistant special teams coordinator at
Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...
in 2016 before being promoted to offensive coordinator in 2017 to replace
Rich Scangarello
Rich Scangarello (born April 15, 1972) is an American football coach who most recently was the offensive coordinator for the University of Kentucky. He was previously a quarterbacks coach for the San Francisco 49ers. He has also spent time as t ...
.
Denver Broncos
Calabrese was hired as a quality control assistant on January 23, 2019, once again working under
Rich Scangarello
Rich Scangarello (born April 15, 1972) is an American football coach who most recently was the offensive coordinator for the University of Kentucky. He was previously a quarterbacks coach for the San Francisco 49ers. He has also spent time as t ...
, the newly hired offensive coordinator for the Broncos. Calabrese was rumored to be a possibility to start at quarterback for the Broncos in 2020 for their game against the
Saints
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness
Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual res ...
after all of their quarterbacks were ruled out due to
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
protocols and he took offensive practice reps. However, the NFL quickly shot down the idea due to not wanting teams to stock up on players by referring to them as coaches.
New York Jets
On January 18, 2021, Calabrese was hired by the
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...
to be their quarterbacks coach under head coach
Robert Saleh
Robert Saleh (born January 31, 1979) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). A defensive coach for much of his 20-year coaching career, Saleh has served as an assistant co ...
.
References
External links
Denver Broncos bioWagner Seahawks bioUCF Knights bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Calabrese, Rob
1990 births
Living people
People from Islip (town), New York
Players of American football from New York (state)
American football quarterbacks
UCF Knights football players
American football wide receivers
High school football coaches in Florida
UCF Knights football coaches
Wagner Seahawks football coaches
Denver Broncos coaches
New York Jets coaches