Todd Marinovich signs with SoCal Coyotes to compete for starting QB position
INDIO, Calif. – July 6, 2017 – Former USC 1990 Rose Bowl winner and Los Angeles Raiders first-round draft pick Todd Marinovich, who last played professional football in 2001, has signed a contract with the SoCal Coyotes and will battle for the starting job with America’s #1 Developmental Pro Football Program™. The Coyotes have scheduled a press conference at noon on Friday, July 7, at The Vue at Indian Wells Golf Resort to introduce Marinovich to the media, players and fans.
The Coyotes announced that Marinovich, 6-4, 225, whose once-promising career was derailed by drug abuse, will attempt to become the oldest professional quarterback since mythic Raiders legend George Blanda led Oakland on a remarkable AFC Championship run in 1970. Marinovich, who turned 48 on July 4, will compete in camp with second-year incumbent and former NAIA National Player of the Year Jacob Russell. As a rookie in 2016, Russell, 25, threw for a league-best 2,048 yards, 35 touchdowns and only two interceptions in the Coyotes perfect 7-0 season.
WATCH: Comeback Quarterback – the rise and fall of Todd Marinovich
The Coyote model and infrastructure – which requires players to adhere to a strict code of conduct, fulfill community service, and engage weekly role modeling and mentoring – might have made all the difference for a young Marinovich decades ago. The rise and horrific fall of his decorated NCAA, NFL, CFL and AFL career was one of the most documented and publicized in modern football history.
Marinovich first joined the Coyotes as an assistant coach in February 2017. Repeated workouts with the team, however, raised eyebrows, and questions. “Todd’s been focused on sobriety and God since he’s been here,” said head coach J David Miller. “Beyond that, we have no expectations, just one day at a time. But when he started throwing, his mechanics, arm strength and accuracy are obvious. Overnight he went from being the QB coach to the elephant in the room.
“Nobody really wants to admit what we were seeing,” Miller added. “But perhaps the only thing more outrageous than a 48-year-old quarterback is to deny a talented man the opportunity to play the sport he loves, break the tape, and to leave it on his terms. We anticipate the naysayers, but Todd’s passion, sincerity, humility and desire is extraordinary.”
The Coyotes did seek a second opinion. Before making a decision, they put Marinovich through a Run ‘n’ Shoot crash-course of their high-octane Silver Stretch offense with none other than its creator, coaching legend Darrel ‘Mouse’ Davis. As Miller’s mentor since the mid-80s, Davis is considered the Coyote patriarch, and author of their fire-breathing playbook that has led the team to four titles, two undefeated seasons, and dozens of national scoring records.
Davis was impressed, and Marinovich passed his workout with credibility. Prominent Coachella Valley orthopedic surgeon and Coyotes team physician Sydney Pardino, a former team doctor for the New Orleans Saints, handled the quarterback’s medical intake. After a battery of tests, he declared Marinovich fit for training camp, which opens August 10.
On March 15, 2017, Marinovich was sentenced in Orange County to three years’ probation for a drug relapse that resulted in another arrest last year – one of many that destroyed his career. He has been clean and sober since August 2016, and has been tested weekly since joining the Coyotes. Since then, schools, churches and organizations have opened their doors to Marinovich, who has shared his cautionary tale to packed houses throughout Southern California.
The Los Angeles Raiders selected Marinovich in the first round of the 1991 NFL Draft with the 24th pick overall. He was the second quarterback taken, ahead of Brett Favre, and signed a three-year, $2.25 million deal. Marinovich made his NFL debut on Monday Night Football, against the Dallas Cowboys on August 12, 1991 – before most SoCal Coyotes were born.
The SoCal Coyotes organization reshapes lives, homes and communities by Building Champions, Building Men™. It ‘Defends the Shield™’ through year-round ‘Faith, Family, Football™’ leadership programs, community service and sports initiatives that develop aspiring football athletes; educate, equip and inspire at-risk youth; nurture single fathers and father figures; extol the virtues of family values, positive fathering and family legacy; mentor young men into trusted corporate citizens with employment opportunities and sustainable incomes; and empower future generations throughout the Coachella Valley.
For the past five years, the SoCal Coyotes non-profit sports leadership organization scalable model has become the national standard for professional developmental football. This footprint was built on industry-leading commitment, vision and initiatives. Now the fastest-growing sports brand in Coachella Valley history, the year-round SoCal Coyotes have no peers, and their impact is unprecedented.
For additional information, visit www.thesocalcoyotes.com.
