MONTREAL—Jeff Garcia has made his return to the Canadian Football League.
The Montreal Alouettes announced Monday that the former NFL and CFL quarterback has joined its offensive coaching staff. Garcia has already gotten down to business and the team tweeted (@MTLAlouettes) out a picture of him working with it’s QBs at practice.
Garcia started his professional career in the CFL with the Calgary Stampeders in 1994. He played back-up for Doug Flutie his first year and replaced him after Flutie was injured in 1995. Garcia was named the starter the following season and led the team to three consecutive winning seasons—13-5, 10-8, 12-6—before capping off his CFL career off with a Grey Cup championship in 1998.
Garcia amassed 4,000 in three seasons with the CFL and was a four-time All-Star.
“Jeff Garcia is a fierce competitor who has had success in every situation he has faced in professional football,” Alouettes head coach Tom Higgins told MontrealAlouettes.com. “The addition of Jeff is ideal because he brings the expertise he’s gained over his professional years from so many different systems. We are very excited to welcome Jeff to our coaching staff in his coaching debut. His CFL knowledge and comprehension of the game are key qualities that are going to be invaluable for us to improve as a team in the upcoming weeks. Over the next few days, we will be able to better evaluate all of our coaches and establish what their exact roles will be.”
The Gilroy-native started his 11-year NFL career in 1999 with the San Francisco 49ers. He helped the 49ers reach the playoffs twice during his five year stint with the team which included staging the second largest comeback victory over the New York Giants on Jan. 5, 2003. The Giants led 38-14 with around 18 minutes left in the game, but the 49ers scored 25 unanswered points to win 39-38. Garcia threw for 331 yards, three touchdowns and an interception in addition to 60 yards on the ground with a touchdown. He was a three-time Pro Bowler with the 49ers, being named in 2000, 2001 and 2002. He received the honor again in 2007 while with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
After the 49ers, Garcia played for the Cleveland Browns (2004), Detroit Lions (2005), Philadelphia Eagles (2006 and again in 2009), Buccaneers (2007-2008), Oakland Raiders (2009), the UFL’s Omaha Nighthawks (2010) and the Houston Texans (2011).
The Gilroy High alum racked up 43,300 yards and threw for 281 touchdown passes over his professional career.
