Rich Scangarello’s quarterback history

What quarterbacks has Raiders new quarterbacks coach worked with?

Quarterback has been a hot topic of conversation for the Las Vegas Raiders during the early stages of the offseason and will continue to be as the NFL Draft and free agency approach. Not only is the position one of the team’s biggest needs this spring, but the Raiders also hired a new quarterbacks coach, Rich Scangarello.

Since Las Vegas is expected to have a new signal-caller next season, what does Scangarello’s track record at quarterback look like?

San Francisco 49ers

Scangarello served two stints as the 49ers’ quarterbacks coach, 2017 to 2018 and 2021. He was brought on by Kyle Shanahan after Shanahan replaced Chip Kelley as the head coach in San Francisco. That was also the first year after the Colin Kaepernick era, leaving the team with an ugly quarterback situation.

Coincidentally, Scangarello worked with a couple of QBs who are currently on the Raiders’ roster, Brian Hoyer and Jimmy Garoppolo. Hoyer began the year as the 49ers’ starter but only made six starts, completing just 58.0 percent of his passes for 1,245 yards and four touchdowns with as many interceptions before getting benched for C.J. Bethard.

Bethard’s numbers were about the same as Hoyer’s, so San Francisco engineered a mid-season trade to bring over Garoppolo.

After sitting and learning the playbook for a few weeks, Garoppolo famously guided the 49ers on a 5-0 run to end the year where he averaged 260 passing yards per game and had a 67.4 percent completion rate. Especially considering the short timeline, that’s a big testament to Scangarello’s ability to develop and get a quarterback up to speed.

That led to some high expectations the following year, however, an injury in Week 3 sidelined Jimmy G for the rest of the season and left the coach to work with Bethard again and Nick Mullens.

Mullens had some success, demolishing the Raiders on Thursday Night Football in his first start and ending the year with a 64.2 completion percentage, 2,227 yards and 13 touchdowns with 10 interceptions in eight games. While that may not be a ringing endorsement for Scangarello, by no means is that an indictment either.

Photo by Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images

After a two-year hiatus, the coach returned to San Francisco and worked with Garoppolo once again. Statistically, that was one of the best years of the quarterback’s career, tossing for 3,810 yards, 20 scores, 12 picks, and a 68.3 completion percentage. Also, the 49ers managed to make it to the Conference Championship game. That was Trey Lance’s rookie season as well, however, Lance and Scangarello didn’t work with each other long as the latter took a new job for the following campaign.

Generally speaking, Scangarello’s time in the Bay is best known for the job he did working with Garoppolo.

Denver Broncos

To be blunt, Scangarello’s lone season as the Broncos offensive coordinator (2019) was pretty ugly. Denver ranked 28th in points scored and yards gained primarily due to a passing attack that was also 28th in the league for yards and 32nd in touchdowns scored. However, he wasn’t exactly dealt a good hand.

That offseason, the Broncos traded for Joe Flacco, who was well past his prime. Flacco ended up making eight starts, earning a 2-6 record while averaging just under 230 passing yards per game and throwing six touchdowns to go along with five interceptions before suffering an injury.

Brandon Allen took over for a three games and was even worse, completing fewer than 50 percent of his passes and averaging just 171.7 yards per outing. The team did start having success when rookie second-round pick Drew Lock took over with four wins in five games. However, Lock was only a small part of that with an average of about 200 yards per game and seven touchdowns.

Scangarello ended up getting fired at the end of the season, so it’s safe to say his time in the Mile High City is an ugly mark on his résumé

Kentucky

This might be the biggest indictment of Scangarello’s ability to develop a quarterback.

He was hired to replace Liam Coen as Kentucky’s offensive coordinator in 2022 and was walking into a great opportunity to work with a potential first-round pick at quarterback, Will Levis. However, Levis regressed and ended up falling to the second round after playing for Scangarello.

Granted, the Wildcats did lose some talent from the previous season to the NFL and the team’s offensive line was a mess, but this doesn’t bode well for the coach’s ability to mold a young passer.

Other Work

Scangarello was a senior offensive assistant with the Philadelphia Eagles for one year when the organization drafted Jalen Hurts in 2020. Hurts didn’t play much that year, starting four games and finishing with a 52.0 completion percentage, 1,061 passing yards and six touchdowns with four interceptions. But he has become a quality starting quarterback since then and earned a five-year, $255 million contract extension last offseason.

Through the QB Collective, an organization that works with and holds camps for young quarterbacks, Scangarello has been working with potential No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams for several years. As NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero reported below, those two kicked off 2024 training together for the draft in April.