How getting cut by eight teams made Tanney a better coach originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
If he hadn’t been released by the Chiefs, he never would have landed in Dallas and worked with Wade Wilson. And if he hadn’t been cut by the Cowboys, he never would have landed in Cleveland and gotten to work with Shane Steichen. And if the Browns didn’t release him, he never would have found himself in Tampa with Josh McCown.
And on and on.
And then off to Tennessee with offensive coordinator Jason Michael and quarterback Marcus Mariota and then to Buffalo with Greg Roman and then over to Indy with Andrew Luck and Matt Hasselbeck and then to the Giants with Pat Shurmur and Mike Shula and Eli Manning.
Every stop was a crash course in how to be a quarterback. Every city was an opportunity to learn a new scheme and a new way of looking at offensive football. Every coach and every quarterback he met along the way was a sounding board, someone to learn from.
And there were a lot of them.
Add it all up? And you have the Eagles’ new quarterbacks coach.
“I was with eight teams in nine years,” Alex Tanney said. “Twelve head coaches, 12 offensive coordinators, so just a little bit different perspective than some coaches. So many different philosophies, and seeing things in a different lens than others and just trying to share that experience with the guys in our room.”
Tanney’s playing career was long but uneventful. By the time he retired after nine seasons, he had thrown 15 passes, completing 11 for 100 yards and a touchdown to Dorial Green-Beckham of all people for the Titans against the Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium on the final day of the 2016 season.
But while he was bouncing around from team to team, the seeds were being planted for a much more impactful career.
He knew quickly his true calling was…
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