USFL 2022: How New Jersey Generals' Mike Riley earned his QB guru rep
By RJ Young
FOX Sports Writer
When Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback and seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady renounced his retirement on March 13 — just after the NCAA Tournament bracket was revealed on Selection Sunday — perhaps no one was less surprised than New Jersey Generals head coach Mike Riley.
Past pro QBs who have played for Riley include Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh (NFL), Heisman winner Doug Flutie (NFL), former Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett (WLAF), Sean Salisbury (CFL) and Fresno State head coach Jeff Tedford (CFL).
That's before we get into the college ranks with former USC Trojan Rob Johnson and Oregon State signal-callers Derek Anderson, Matt Moore and Sean Mannion.
For that reason alone, all eyes will be on De'Andre Johnson and Luis Perez, Riley’s two quarterbacks, when the United States Football League kicks off on Saturday.
But none of those quarterbacks compares to the one Riley nearly signed — twice.
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In 1993, Riley was the offensive coordinator at USC, and then-head coach John Robinson gave him California's Bay Area as one of the regions he was responsible for recruiting.
"And through time," Riley said, "I saw a quarterback that I really liked from Sierra High School, Tom Brady. And so, we started the recruiting process."
Riley traveled to San Mateo, California, nearly every week to see Brady, who didn't even start at QB on his high school team at Junipero Serra, an all-boys Catholic high school.
Indeed, as a freshman in 1991, Brady was a backup quarterback on a team that lost every game it played that season. The first action he saw in a high school game was at linebacker, and according to Riley, he read run fits like they were written in Braille.
Brady’s high school coach said he played the position like he was running in slow motion, according to Seth Wickersham’s "It’s Better to be Feared." But Riley saw the physical traits that would come to define Brady as the greatest quarterback the game has ever seen.
In fact, Riley was the only recruiter who saw Brady play during his senior year of high school in 1994.
"I like guys that are really kind of natural throwers," Riley said. "That's what struck me with Tom Brady in high school. He just naturally threw the football. It didn't look like there was anything hard about it to him. There was an efficiency of movement that was special.
"And those guys that can kind of naturally throw and naturally move and throw, even if they're not runners, it's one of the things I look for — just how easily the guy can get the football, can take his steps back and get the football out of his hands."
Mike Riley on recruiting Tom Brady out of high school
Riley didn’t end his evaluation process there. He also considered Brady’s character, his fortitude, his ability to handle pressure and his family. And Brady’s family also evaluated Riley.
"Galynn and I, to this day, probably have as warm a regard for Mike Riley as we've ever had for any coach," Tom Brady Sr. told the Omaha World-Herald. "Just a wonderful guy. I would happily entrust my son to Mike Riley any time."
Sure that he and the Bradys liked one another, Riley felt great about the prospect of Brady signing a national letter of intent to attend USC.
"I felt really good about Tom's interest in USC," Riley said. "The fact he had visited, I think, numerous times while, you know, unofficially while we were in the recruiting process. I had been to his home, I've scouted a game, I've been through that whole process and felt really good about it."
But he was thwarted. After finishing yet another home visit to the Bradys, Riley arrived on campus to learn that Robinson had accepted a verbal commitment from Quincy Woods late in the recruiting cycle.
"So, I go back, go to the office," he said. "I’d just got back from the visit with Tom and walked in and was telling Coach Robinson about the visit. And he said, ‘Well, we just got a commitment from another quarterback from Chicago. We don't have room for Brady.’ And of course, I’d probably spent a year-and-a-half on this deal. I was really surprised and disappointed."
Perhaps the saddest trip Riley made involved getting on a plane in Los Angeles, flying to San Francisco and telling the Bradys that USC had to pull his offer.
Brady was recruited by USC, UCLA, Cal, Illinois and Michigan. After UCLA signed Cade McNown and Brady eventually committed to Michigan, Riley felt relieved. At least he wouldn't have to play against Brady at Cal.
Brady proceeded to put together a 20-5 record as a starter in Ann Arbor. But most folks still thought Drew Henson, with whom Brady split playing time as a senior, was a much better prospect. And a senior quarterback who couldn't hold down the starting job for an entire season in college did nothing to inspire faith in his ability to play at the highest level of the sport — let alone become a franchise quarterback.
Mike Riley on why he wanted QB Luis Perez
Meanwhile, Riley became head coach at Oregon State in 1997 and was hired as head coach of the San Diego Chargers in 1999. After an 8-8 season with an aging Harbaugh at QB, in the 2000 NFL Draft, the Chargers were in the market for a late-round quarterback they could develop.
Riley still believed in Brady's potential, and he told him so leading up to the draft. He’d missed him once and didn’t want to miss him again.
The Chargers had three sixth-round picks in 2000. With their first in that round, Riley wanted to take Brady at No. 184 overall.
Bobby Beathard was the Chargers’ general manager then, and he would eventually be named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame after a 33-year career that included 10 division titles, seven conference titles and four Super Bowls.
Just before the Chargers' first pick of the sixth round, Beathard rewatched Brady’s film.
The Chargers selected former Virginia linebacker Shannon Taylor.
They didn’t pick again until No. 203, and at No. 199, the New England Patriots selected Brady.
Riley couldn’t believe it. He’d lost out on Brady again.
"The drafting people in a lot of places have a lot of opinions," he said.
Bear Bryant's impact on Mike Riley
In 2001, Brady got the chance to play against Riley and the Chargers in his third NFL start. The game proved to be a pivotal moment in history for both Brady and Riley.
The Chargers were 3-1 and favored to beat a New England team off to a 1-3 start. With 8:57 left to play in Foxborough, the Chargers led the Pats 26-16 when Brady came back onto the field to lead the offense.
"He took them on two scoring drives," Riley said, "tied us up and then took his team down and won in overtime."
The Pats won 29-26 in a game in which Brady completed 33 of 54 passes for 364 yards with two touchdowns. New England finished 12-2 and beat the St. Louis Rams in the Super Bowl.
"So that's my experience with recruiting and the possible draft and then playing against Tom Brady," Riley said.
Riley chuckled while recounting his poor luck in his quixotic struggle to coach Tom Brady. But I like to think that even Miguel de Cervantes would admit that Riley’s is a damn good story.
Of this we can be certain, though: Mike Riley knows from quarterbacks.
RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports and the host of the podcast "The No. 1 Ranked Show with RJ Young." Follow him on Twitter at @RJ_Young, and subscribe to "The RJ Young Show" on YouTube. He is not on a StepMill. You can watch the "The No. 1 Ranked Show with RJ Young" on YouTube or subscribe on podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts.
