The quarterback position is perhaps the hardest to play – and coach – in all sports. Few players have mastered the position, and even fewer coaches have mastered the art of finding, teaching, and producing quarterbacks who succeed at the NFL level.
Bill Walsh and Jim Harbaugh are two such coaches. Bill Walsh has produced Hall of Fame NFL quarterbacks as a head coach (Joe Montana, Steve Young), but also maximized the potential of several quarterbacks as an assistant coach in the NFL and as a head coach in college (Virgil Carter, Ken Anderson, Guy Benjamin, Steve Dils). Jim Harbaugh has, in his short career, produced NFL quarterbacks at both of his college stops, turning University of San Diego’s lightly recruited Josh Johnson into an NFL quarterback, recruiting to Stanford and producing star NFL quarterback Andrew Luck, resurrecting the career of Alex Smith of the 49ers, and channeling the raw potential of Colin Kaepernick into a rising star.
Both coaches emphasize the importance of fundamentals. Rather than expand into complex drills and arm mechanics, they ask their quarterbacks to master basic drills. Once mastery is achieved, the quarterbacks continue to work on the same fundamentals in order to maintain their skill in a constant search for perfection. This mastery breeds confidence, and confidence is essential for the position.
Jim Harbaugh (quarterback clinic):
Bill Walsh: