Thomas Edward Arth (born May 11, 1981) 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 wi ...

coach and former player. He is a passing game specialist for the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...

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 majo ...

(NFL), a position he had held since 2022. Arth served as the head football coach at

John Carroll University John Carroll University is a private Jesuit university in University Heights, Ohio. It is primarily an undergraduate, liberal arts institution accompanied by the John M. and Mary Jo Boler College of Business. John Carroll has an enrollment of 3 ...

from 2013 to 2016, the

University of Tennessee Chattanooga The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UT-Chattanooga, UTC, or Chattanooga) is a public university in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. It was founded in 1886 and is one of four universities and two other affiliated institutions in the ...

from 2017 to 2018, and the

University of Akron The University of Akron is a public research university in Akron, Ohio. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advanced materials, and engineering. It is classifie ...

from 2019 to 2021.

Playing career

Arth attended Saint Ignatius High School in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...

. In 1998, he took the reins as the starting

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 ...

for the perennial national power and led the Wildcats to the Division I state semifinals, where they lost to defending national champion and eventual state champion

Canton McKinley High School McKinley Senior High School is a public high school in Canton, Ohio, United States. It is the only high school in the Canton City School District and has two campuses: Downtown Campus (mostly known as Early College High School or Timken High S ...

. Over the course of the 1998 season, Arth threw for over 2,100 yards and 24 touchdowns. At

, Arth started for four years at quarterback for the Blue Streaks, and set 18 program records. He earned unanimous All-American honors as a junior and senior. In 2002, he guided the Blue Streaks to a 12–2 record, an East Regional Championship, and a berth in the semifinals of the

NCAA Division III Football Championship The NCAA Division III Football Championship began in 1973. The Division III playoffs begin with 32 teams selected to participate in the Division III playoffs. The Division III championship game, known as the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl or Stagg Bowl ...

playoffs for the first time in program history. Over the course of his career, Arth captured every major passing record at John Carroll, including passing yards (10,457), and touchdowns (89). Arth spent time with the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

(

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A ...

–

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; " Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discover ...

) who allocated him to the

Scottish Claymores The Scottish Claymores were an American football team based in Scotland. The franchise played in the World League of American Football (later renamed NFL Europe) between 1995 and 2004, initially playing all home games at Murrayfield Stadium, ...

(2004) and the Hamburg Sea Devils (2005) of

NFL Europa NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...

. During his three seasons with the Colts, he served as a back-up to quarterback

Peyton Manning Peyton Williams Manning (born March 24, 1976) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons. Nicknamed "the Sheriff", he spent 14 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and four with ...

. He was signed by the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the t ...

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...

but was released prior to the start of

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events, ...

. Arth signed with the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the CFL East Division, East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based i ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a c ...

in February

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...

. Arth later signed with the Grand Rapids Rampage of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

Coaching career

John Carroll

On December 5, 2012, Arth was named the 17th head football coach at John Carroll. On November 12, 2016, Arth's program earned their first outright

Ohio Athletic Conference The Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) was formed in 1902 and is the third oldest athletic conference in the United States. Its current commissioner is Sarah Otey. Former commissioners include Mike Cleary, who was the first General Manager of a profe ...

(OAC) title since 1989 with a 31–28 victory over No. 1 Mount Union. On December 17, Arth was named D3football.com Coach of the Year for 2016, becoming the first Blue Streaks mentor in any sport to earn a national honor in 42 years.

Chattanooga

Arth was named the head coach of the

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UT-Chattanooga, UTC, or Chattanooga) is a public university in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. It was founded in 1886 and is one of four universities and two other affiliated institutions in the ...

on December 19, 2016.

Akron

On December 14, 2018, Arth was named the 28th head football coach at the

. Akron fired Arth on November 4, 2021, toward the end of his third season. His overall record at Akron was 3–24.

Los Angeles Chargers

Arth was hired by the

as a pass game specialist on February 9, 2022.

Personal life

Arth and his wife, Lauren, a 2003 graduate of John Carroll, have five children: Caroline, Thomas, Kathleen, Patrick and Elizabeth. Arth founded the Cleveland Passing Academy in June 2008.

Head coaching record

References

External links

Los Angeles Chargers profile

Chattanooga profile

John Carroll profile

Just Sports Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arth, Tom 1981 births Living people American football quarterbacks Akron Zips football coaches Chattanooga Mocs football coaches Georgia Force players Grand Rapids Rampage players Green Bay Packers players Hamburg Sea Devils players Indianapolis Colts players John Carroll Blue Streaks football coaches John Carroll Blue Streaks football players Los Angeles Chargers coaches Scottish Claymores players Toronto Argonauts players Saint Ignatius High School (Cleveland) alumni Coaches of American football from Ohio Players of American football from Cleveland