According to the Associated Press on Thursday, New York Jets assistant coach Greg Knapp of Baton Rouge, Louisiana passed away at the age of 58. Knapp was reportedly in a serious cycling accident in San Ramon, California, this past Saturday near his home in Danville, California. While on his bike, he was hit by a car and died in hospital five days later from his injuries.
Knapp had just been hired by the Jets on January 18, 2021. He was going to serve as a passing game specialist, and work significantly with newly acquired Jets quarterback Zach Wilson, who New York selected with the second draft pick overall in the 2021 NFL Draft out of Brigham Young University. The Jets decided to go with Wilson as their quarterback for the future and traded former quarterback Sam Darnold of Dana Point, California to the Carolina Panthers on April 5 for a sixth-round draft pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, and a second and a fourth-round draft pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Knapp’s greatest achievement as an assistant coach was winning Super Bowl 50 with the Denver Broncos in 2016. At that time he worked closely with the legendary Peyton Manning. Knapp was also the offensive quality control coach with the San Francisco 49ers (1995-97), 49ers quarterbacks coach (1998-2000), 49ers offensive coordinator (2001-03), Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator (2004-06), Oakland Raiders offensive coordinator (2007-08), Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator (2009), Houston Texans quarterbacks coach (2010-11), Oakland Raiders offensive coordinator (2012), the Denver Broncos quarterbacks coach (2013-2016), and the Atlanta Falcons quarterbacks coach (2018-2020).
Knapp was a quarterback at Sacramento State. He was undrafted and never played a game in the NFL, despite being part of the training camp rosters for the Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Raiders, and San Francisco 49ers.
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