Josh McCown has a relationship with Chryst, and that’s the main
reason he’s now serving as the 49ers’ No. 3 quarterback.
Geep Chryst, the 49ers’ new quarterbacks coach, was working with
the Arizona Cardinals quarterbacks when they selected McCown in the
third round of the 2002 NFL draft. The two developed a bond then
and later reunited on the Carolina Panthers when McCown was a
backup to Jake Delhomme.
By Matthew Barrows – McClatchy Newspapers
SANTA CLARA, Calif.
Josh McCown has a relationship with Chryst, and that’s the main reason he’s now serving as the 49ers’ No. 3 quarterback.
Geep Chryst, the 49ers’ new quarterbacks coach, was working with the Arizona Cardinals quarterbacks when they selected McCown in the third round of the 2002 NFL draft. The two developed a bond then and later reunited on the Carolina Panthers when McCown was a backup to Jake Delhomme.
“So way back in January we talked and said, ‘Hey, it would be fun to hook up again if it works out?'” McCown said Wednesday. “And I just kind of kept working out and staying ready and eventually started to pursue high school coaching in North Carolina. I was enjoying that, and then this door was opened.”
The call from the 49ers came Tuesday. McCown, 32, hopped on a plane in Charlotte at 7 p.m. He settled into a Bay Area hotel room around 3 a.m. Wednesday, and by 11 a.m. he was working out for Chryst, coach Jim Harbaugh and general manager Trent Baalke.
It was the second time in three days that group had scouted a former United Football League quarterback. On Monday, former Sacramento Mountain Lion Daunte Culpepper went through the process, but the 49ers liked McCown better.
McCown threw 10 touchdowns against eight interceptions last year for the Hartford Colonials, and his 79.3 passer rating was the best in the UFL.
Neither Chryst nor coach Jim Harbaugh was made available to the media Wednesday.
“The competition was certainly a lot better than people would have thought,” McCown said about playing in the UFL. “I’m further along now than I would have been if I sat on a roster last year as a backup, because I played eight games. When you’re taking snaps – and I think this is true for me and everybody – you’re getting better when you’re taking reps. So I really valued that.”
McCown’s best NFL season came in 2004 when he started 13 games for the Cardinals, threw for 2,511 yards and had 11 touchdowns against 10 interceptions. He’s also played for the Raiders, Panthers and Detroit Lions.
In 2007, he started nine games for the Raiders in a season interrupted by injuries. His replacements that season were Culpepper and, in the 2007 finale, then-rookie JaMar cus Russell.
McCown said his role is to give San Francisco’s Nos. 1 and 2 quarterbacks _ Alex Smith and Colin Kaepernick – support and to offer guidance. McCown is listed as the team’s third quarterback. However, an early-season injury to Smith likely would make McCown a starter, considering Kaepernick is a rookie who didn’t have the benefit of a full offseason.
It’s clear that the 49ers want McCown game-ready. Despite the quick turnaround Wednesday, McCown was getting close coaching from Harbaugh on his footwork, and he ended up getting the third-most repetitions during the afternoon practice.
At 6-foot-4, McCown has nice size and is still mobile, a prerequisite for any of Harbaugh’s quarterbacks. McCown had a good-looking completion to wideout Kevin Jurovich during practice, but he also looked ragged at times, throwing two passes that were picked off by safety Dashon Goldson.
That was to be expected from a quarterback who a day earlier was coaching teenagers at Marvin Ridge High School in Waxhaw, N.C.
“It was fun,’ McCown said of being thrown into practice. “Why not? I mean everybody – it’s indicative of their whole team, I’m sure – they’re just learning on the fly. … And it’s no different for me. So I’ll just get in there and learn on the fly and do the best I can.”
