No bad NFL quarterbacks? Why a QB's success comes down to team, environment

Dan Fouts didn’t play well at the start of his NFL career.

What was going on around him didn’t help.

Through his first four seasons with the San Diego Chargers, he had three different head coaches and three offensive coordinators. Each OC brought his own system and players he liked for his scheme. The only constant for Fouts was change, which showed in how he played. In 1976, his fourth season, he completed just 57.9% of his passes for 181.1 yards per game, 14 touchdowns and a 75.4 passer rating — all of which marked his career-highs to that point. 

Bill Walsh was his offensive coordinator that fourth year, and Fouts credits the Hall of Fame coach with rebuilding his game and giving him a sense that he could play in the NFL. But the QB's career didn’t really take off until 1978, when Don Coryell took over as head coach following the Chargers’ 1-3 start under Tommy Prothro, who resigned.

In the pass-heavy "Air Coryell" scheme, with a roster that had gradually improved over the years, Fouts evolved from a struggling quarterback into one of the best players at his position.

He led the NFL in passing yards four straight seasons beginning in 1979, Coryell’s first full year as coach. Fouts became a six-time Pro Bowler and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993.

"I don’t think there are any bad quarterbacks [in the NFL]," Fouts told FOX Sports. "It’s just that some guys haven’t been fortunate enough to get into a system surrounded by players, talented players. So that’s a big part of it."

Fouts’ career trajectory is a testament to the impact of the situation — franchise culture, coaching and personnel, among others — on the success of NFL quarterbacks. We see numerous examples today.

Former No. 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield, whose career with the Cleveland Browns fell off after a strong rookie season and who played with two franchises in 2022 (Carolina Panthers, Los Angeles Rams), has been one of the league’s best quarterbacks since joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ahead of last season. Jared Goff, whose partnership with Sean McVay soured with the Los Angeles Rams after initial success and a trip to Super Bowl LIII, has been rejuvenated with the Detroit Lions. Geno Smith and Sam Darnold, both of whom were labeled as busts after early struggles with the New York Jets, have had spurts as high-level starters in the NFC. Even Green Bay Packers backup Malik Willis, who struggled in two full years with the Tennessee Titans, has looked like a completely different player when he’s had the chance to play this season.

We see circumstances impact quarterbacks the moment they enter the league. During the offseason, league observers argued that no other No. 1 overall pick has ever entered a better situation than the Chicago Bears’ Caleb Williams, considering the personnel upgrades the team has made recently. But his recent struggles, plus the firing of offensive coordinator Sane Waldron, have thrust Chicago’s offense into turmoil.

On the flip side, No. 2 overall pick Jayden Daniels — whose surrounding cast was believed to be much worse — has had a historic start to his NFL career with the Washington Commanders. New leadership has completely changed the trajectory of the franchise.  

"Situations are the number one and two reasons why either quarterbacks succeed or fail," said former NFL quarterback and FOX Sports analyst Chase Daniel.

So what’s an ideal situation in a quarterback’s eyes? Let's dive into the world of NFL QB development.

‘You have to be changing with the times’ 

Under Coryell, Fouts felt empowered because of the little things. 

Coryell and his staff would show him tape of the plays they’d run that were successful. And the plays were broken down to the basics, like the foundation of a pass and the route. 

Coryell’s philosophy was built around making the opponent defend the width and length of the field. So every play had a receiver going wide and one going deep.

In Fouts’ progression, he looked deep first, then worked back to the line of scrimmage.

"Sometimes it happens before the ball’s even snapped, where you’re going to go [with the ball]," he explained.

"You just tweak it a little bit here, you tweak it a little bit there and so it’s still simple, and you haven’t made it complicated."

That’s what Daniel believes is the first thing franchises must do to nurture young quarterbacks: Simplify the game for them.

"So much of the time, as old-school coordinators, you're trying to run your offense because, ‘This is how the offense is done. It doesn't matter to the quarterback,’" explained Daniel, who played 13 seasons in the NFL. "It's so important for quarterbacks to feel like they own the offense. You have to do stuff that the quarterback likes and the quarterback is good at.

"It sounds basic, but so many offensive coordinators are so prideful, and head coaches are so prideful about it: 'We're going to run it this way because it's always worked,'" he continued. "You have to be changing with the times, and I think that's what Kliff Kingsbury is doing right now with Jayden [Daniels]."

FOX Sports analyst Michael Vick, one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks of all time, said cultivating an ideal environment for young quarterbacks begins with hiring the right people.

"You got to sit down and talk about what's your plan for this quarterback," Vick said. "What type of offense are you willing to run and ready to run? What type of receivers do you like? What's your slot guy look like? What type of running back? Are you going with a two-running back system? Or are you going to feature one guy and just kind of feed him?

"[There's] a lot of things that go into trying to make sure that the quarterback position is your number one position. Because if not, you're gonna be searching for guys."

‘Everybody drives differently’ 

For Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen, maximizing a quarterback starts with gauging his understanding of defensive football.

Making sure he knows what a three-technique is. What a shade alignment is. The difference between an over front and an under front. Then they build toward play calling.

Understanding a quarterback on a deep level begins in the spring.

"I think sometimes you ask a quarterback what he likes? He'll say everything. That's definitely not true, right?" Coen told FOX Sports. "So now if he's not going to be able to maybe give you that feedback — because he doesn't want to say he's not good at something or doesn't like something — you've got to find out what that is. What is his, I don't want to say fatal flaw, but like, what is going to put him in a short circuit, or what is going to make him have a negative-type response to a play? That's just like repping a three-step drop, repping a five-step, repping as many throws as you can.

"So an offseason program is so important."

That’s where relationships often begin, and for Houston Texans quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson — who’s been integral in C.J. Stroud’s rise — relationships are everything.

The way Johnson sees it, the relationship with the quarterback is the biggest key to how the player learns that a coach is not only competent, but also that he's trustworthy enough for the QB to be vulnerable and experiment on the field.

There’s a thin line that coaches walk, Johnson explained, of making sure their players are comfortable enough to build confidence while also challenging them to grow and get better.

"How I kind of see it as coaches and the system, we build the car, right? But the quarterback drives it," Johnson told FOX Sports. "Everybody drives differently. And once you accept that there is no universal way to play the position, that's the way you start. And then it's your job as a coach to figure out what's the best way, and how do I support this player so he can drive the car the way he drives it.

"There are some non-negotiables," Johnson continued. "Got to have an engine. Got to have tires. Got to have four doors, whatever. But at the end of the day … maybe this guy has a really big arm. Maybe this guy has to do pre-snap [stuff], so we've got to memorize things, and he can see leverages and techniques pre-snap. Or maybe this player is more of a post-snap player, where now we're going to build things where he can react post snap.

"We want to stay away from this one universal way to coach a player, especially at the quarterback position."

‘Football justice’ 

As a rookie with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2018, No. 3 quarterback Mason Rudolph got few practice reps. But virtual reality served as a way for him to get extra work outside practice. It allowed him to see what Ben Roethlisberger was seeing, the calls he was making and the communication that was taking place at the line of scrimmage. It was a way to accelerate the learning curve without getting the physical reps.

Still, Rudolph acknowledges that the transition to the NFL can be difficult for any young quarterback — starter or backup — because of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, which limits how much time players can interact with coaches in the offseason program.

"It’s a completely different game from college to pro, at least in my experience," Rudolph told FOX Sports. "It’s really hard to play this position when you’re young."

It doesn't help that many across the league see a quarterback development problem.

Daniel calls it an "epidemic" in both the nurturing of quarterbacks and the scouting of them. He says there’s no simple solution.

"If I knew [the answer to the problem], I'd make a lot of money for a lot of different teams," Daniel said. "It's just impossible. It's such a crapshoot. It really is. There's no right or wrong way [to develop a quarterback]. … [Teams] can't wait two years for a quarterback to develop that they take in the first round. So, it's just a tough situation."

It’s a situation the Titans are currently navigating.

Will Levis, the 35th pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, hasn’t had the start to his second season that the franchise expected, especially considering the addition of an offensive-minded, quarterback-friendly head coach in Brian Callahan and personnel upgrades. But Tennessee has remained committed to Levis as QB1 for the rest of 2024 to get a full evaluation.

That's in contrast to how Bryce Young, the No. 1 overall pick last year, and Anthony Richardson, the fourth pick in 2023, have been handled by the Carolina Panthers and Indianapolis Colts, respectively. Young and Richardson were both benched, though their teams have recently turned back to them as starters.

"You have to make those decisions," Callahan said of potentially moving on from a young quarterback who could develop into a great player later in his career. "Are you going to offer him a contract that’s within the market for starting quarterbacks? Or are you going to do something different? Those decision points come for all these guys. You either have answered those questions enough to get paid or you haven’t.

"You see a lot of these guys that were high picks that have sort of come back and rejuvenated themselves some after they’ve been a couple of places and the situation improved, whatever it was for them," he added. "Some teams decided they weren’t for them, and they’ve gone and grown and improved. I think ultimately [what we] want to see is guys getting better every week because there are chances to improve, and it is a really difficult position to play as a young player."

Rudolph sees that kind of career arc as a beautiful thing. It’s why he has so much respect for quarterbacks like Smith and Darnold, who have shed the bust label that defined the early part of their careers.

Rudolph looks at it as "football justice," a term he learned from Steelers coach Mike Tomlin.

"I think sometimes it just takes the right concoction," he said. "Playcaller. You're older in your years. Your football IQ is higher. You've seen more defense. You've seen more ball. And sometimes it just clicks later. And I think if you listen to the naysayers who maybe label this guy or that guy a bust early on, then you'll start to believe that.

"But I think if you just try to stack one good day after another and improve yourself, even when you're the backup, or even maybe the [No.] 3, you're gonna get an opportunity at some point."

Ben Arthur is an NFL reporter for FOX Sports. He previously worked for The Tennessean/USA TODAY Network, where he was the Titans beat writer for a year and a half. He covered the Seattle Seahawks for SeattlePI.com for three seasons (2018-20) prior to moving to Tennessee. You can follow Ben on Twitter at @benyarthur.

FOX Sports NFL reporter Greg Auman contributed to this report. 

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