Gregory Fishbeck Knapp (March 5, 1963 – July 22, 2021) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

coach in 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 majo ...

(NFL). He served as an assistant coach for 25 seasons with 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 ...

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcon ...

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 headquar ...

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Ra ...

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their home games at NR ...

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 a ...

and

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's Nationa ...

. He 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 in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

and later coached at

California State University, Sacramento California State University, Sacramento (CSUS, Sacramento State, or informally Sac State) is a public university in Sacramento, California. Founded in 1947 as Sacramento State College, it is the eleventh oldest school in the 23-campus California ...

Playing career

As a

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 Am ...

at Sacramento State University, Knapp enjoyed a distinguished career where he ranked among the Hornets' career leaders with more than 3,800 passing yards and 32 touchdown passes. He went to training camps with the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The t ...

in 1986, Los Angeles Raiders from 1987 to 1990, and the

in 1992 to 1994. Prior to joining the 49ers as a coach, Knapp spent nine years on the coaching staff of

Sacramento State California State University, Sacramento (CSUS, Sacramento State, or informally Sac State) is a public university in Sacramento, California. Founded in 1947 as Sacramento State College, it is the eleventh oldest school in the 23-campus California ...

, as running backs coach from 1986–1989, receivers coach from 1989–1990, and offensive coordinator/assistant head coach from 1991–1994. Knapp's coaching career at Sacramento State included the 1988 season where Sacramento State reached the semifinals of the

NCAA Division II Football Championship The NCAA Division II Football Championship is an American college football tournament played annually to determine a champion at the NCAA Division II level. It was first held in 1973, as a single-elimination tournament with eight teams. The tourna ...

Coaching career

San Francisco 49ers

Knapp spent nine years in various positions with the

: offensive quality control from 1995 to 1997, quarterbacks coach from 1998 to 2000, and offensive coordinator from 2001 to 2003, featuring the

West coast offense In American football, the West Coast offense is an offense that places a greater emphasis on passing than on running. There are two similar but distinct offensive strategic systems that are commonly referred to as "West Coast offenses". Original ...

Atlanta Falcons

Knapp was named offensive coordinator for the

from 2004 to 2006, helping to form Michael Vick at

as a potent two-way offensive threat. The 2004 Atlanta Falcons finished first in the

NFC South The National Football Conference – Southern Division or NFC South is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It was created prior to the 2002 NFL season, when ...

with an 11-5 record.

Oakland Raiders

Knapp then went to the

as offensive coordinator in 2007 and 2008.

Seattle Seahawks

In 2009, Knapp was hired by the

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of an American football or Canadian football team who is in charge of the team's offense. Generally, along with the defensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator, this coach r ...

Houston Texans

Knapp was the

quarterbacks coach In American football, a position coach is a team official in charge of coaching a specific position group. Position coaches have more specialized duties than the head coach, assistant coach, and the offensive and defensive coordinators. Common ...

of the

from 2010 to 2011, helping mold Matt Schaub into a premier quarterback. The 2011 Texans finished the season 10–6 and first place in the

AFC South The American Football Conference – Southern Division or AFC South is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It was created before the 2002 season when the league realigned di ...

Oakland Raiders (second stint)

Before the start of the

2012 NFL season The 2012 NFL season was the 93rd season of the National Football League and the 47th of the Super Bowl era. It began on Wednesday, September 5, 2012, with the defending Super Bowl XLVI champion New York Giants falling to the Dallas Cowboys in ...

, he was named by new head coach Dennis Allen, whom he met as a fellow coach in Atlanta, as offensive coordinator of the Raiders a second time around. To strengthen the offensive line, the Raiders' general manager, Reggie McKenzie, picked the Texans' right guard, Mike Brisiel, as a free agent. After a season marked by a switch to a zone-blocking scheme at Knapp's urging, and the resulting ineffectiveness of the Raiders' key offensive threat, running back Darren McFadden, Knapp was relieved of his duties as the Raiders offensive coordinator on December 31, 2012.

Denver Broncos

Knapp was hired as the quarterbacks coach for the

on January 18, 2013. On February 7, 2016, Knapp was part of the Broncos coaching staff that won

Super Bowl 50 Super Bowl 50 was an American football game to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2015 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos defeated the National Football Conference (NFC) cha ...

. In the game, the Broncos defeated the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...

by a score of 24–10. After

Vance Joseph Vance Desmond Joseph (born September 20, 1972) is an American football coach and former player who is the defensive coordinator of the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). Previously he was the head coach of the Denver Bronco ...

was hired as head coach for the Broncos, he and Knapp parted ways.

Atlanta Falcons (second stint)

On January 22, 2018, Knapp returned to the

as their quarterbacks coach.

New York Jets

On January 18, 2021, Knapp was hired by the

as 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 ...

Personal life and death

On July 17, 2021, Knapp was struck by a motorist while riding his bicycle in

San Ramon, California San Ramon ( Spanish: ''San Ramón'', meaning "St. Raymond") is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States, located within the San Ramon Valley, and east of San Francisco. San Ramon's population was 84,605 per the 2020 census, ma ...

, near his home. He died from his injuries five days later in a hospital in

Walnut Creek, California Walnut Creek is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States, located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, about east of the city of Oakland. With a total population of 70,127 per the 2020 census, Walnut Creek s ...

at the age of 58. Knapp is survived by his daughter, Jordan, wife, Charlotte, and two stepdaughters, Natalie and Camille. At the time of his death, he lived in Danville, California.

References

External links

Atlanta Falcons profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knapp, Greg 1963 births 2021 deaths American football quarterbacks Atlanta Falcons coaches Cycling road incident deaths Houston Texans coaches Kansas City Chiefs players Los Angeles Raiders players National Football League offensive coordinators Oakland Raiders coaches People from Danville, California People from Seal Beach, California Players of American football from Long Beach, California Road incident deaths in California Sacramento State Hornets football coaches Sacramento State Hornets football players San Francisco 49ers coaches San Francisco 49ers players Seattle Seahawks coaches Sportspeople from Long Beach, California Sportspeople from Orange County, California