LaFleur says he believes that, “Knapper’s going to live on in this quarterback room”

[Mogglez]

Excellent article about Greg Knapp in today's MMQB:

After Quinn’s staff was fired in Atlanta, Knapp was hired by Robert Saleh to be the Jets pass-game specialist, and work directly with 34-year-old Mike LaFleur, breaking into his first job as a coordinator.

Over the last six months, LaFleur, Jets quarterbacks coach Rob Calabrese and Knapp were connected at the hip. LaFleur and Knapp had dozens of dinners, met in Napa over the NFL’s summer break, and, of course, were around each other constantly back at the office in Jersey. LaFleur didn’t really know Knapp much beforehand—outside of being connected on occasion through brother Matt and old boss Kyle Shanahan—but it didn’t take long for the young coach to take to his older counterpart. Quickly, he saw what Quinn did.

“His process was, when you say cross and T's and dot the I's, this dude was the best I've ever been around at making sure that everything was going to be done in research to the fullest extent, to make sure that we are so prepared when we go talk to these guys and we talk to the scouts, when we are doing anything that's job-related,” LaFleur says. “It was incredible and that was something I took from it, that there’s no skipping steps. When I would kind of get a little hyper and want to overtalk about things, he'd bring it back to the foundation and it kind of level me out.
“And the second thing I'll say is, we'd be in team meetings and Saleh would be just going through his presentation for the day or what have you, and he's taking notes on everything. It never stopped for him. And I'm sitting back there kind of thinking about practice. And he is so locked into what Saleh’s saying, taking the notes, trying to always learn.”

Over time, and through a process of vetting quarterbacks for the draft, and putting in new Jets system, he saw how Knapp could capture the young guys in his room, like Zach Wilson, all the same as he once did Young, Manning and Ryan.

“You gotta be a really good coach,” LaFleur says. “You got to be able to relate to them within being yourself and Knapper had no problem being himself every single day. I mean, he was never different in the six months I was with him, there was never a bad day. There was never an up day. Every day was just up for him. Everyone does that little hand gesture that you're even keel, his even keel is just up, it's just unbelievable.

“And yeah, when you think about the situation we had with Zach and Mike White and James Morgan, guys that haven't played, naturally they're going to be a little more receptive to the coaching. And even the young guys are going to see through bulls---, but they quickly saw that Knapper’s not bulls---, he knows his stuff. Then you look at the Matt Ryans and the Peytons, guys that were good before him but still took to him, it's because they’re seeing the amount of time and work he puts into it, every single day in the process.”

LaFleur says he believes that, “Knapper’s going to live on in this quarterback room” because of what he, Calabrese, Wilson, White and Morgan learned in their six months with him.

“I've seen how my brother is doing it, how Kyle's done it. And it's been great,” LaFleur says. “I've learned a lot from them. But then there were things that I saw with Knapper that I think both those two, if they saw it, would be like, Wow, that was a really good, very easy way to say it and just a good process when you're getting into that room.”
Now, imagine the impact he had in six months there, and think about extrapolating it over 26 seasons, and that’s the start of how the NFL community processed the horrible news last week.

In fact, Quinn was on a group text that Mora organized that had more than 30 of Knapp’s former staffmates and quarterbacks on it. Mora put it together to keep everyone updated on the situation, but it didn’t take long for it to turn into a de facto tribute thread.

“There’s a lot of people jammed up on this,” Quinn says. “Defensive coaches. Offensive coaches. [Jets DC] Jeff Ulbrich told me a story about him, as a linebacker, as a rookie, he was struggling, and Knapper was doing bedcheck. And he said, ‘He must’ve talked to me for 20 minutes over a particularly tough time. It wasn’t going good my rookie year, here’s a guy who doesn’t know me at all and he changed my outlook, and said you’re gonna be fine, and gave him some perspective.

“I think that captures Knapper. He was a guy just wanting to help somebody, whatever position, ballplayer or coach, he was a dude that really had a good vibe with people. That’s why it hurts so much. Everybody has their own little Knapper story. It sucks. We’re gonna miss that.”

Making it even harder for those that know him is the station of life he was in—happily remarried, a year away from being empty-nesters with Charlotte, and with big plans for the future that had as much to do with living as coaching. It’s something that LaFleur quickly pointed out as we’d talked about how Knapp had that unique ability to reach quarterbacks young and old.

“You're right on both, except you undersold him,” LaFleur says. “He is an absolutely phenomenal quarterback coach. But he's an even better person. And that's what really sucks about this whole thing. He was at such, as you've probably heard, a good, good point in his life. I didn't know him 20 years ago, five years ago. I selfishly think we had the best Greg Knapp anyone's ever seen, the last six months. There was such a peace and ease in his eyes and his demeanor and he was so ready to attack this next stage of his life.
“And it's a shame. But it's up to us, anyone that knew him, particular our staff right now, because we were with him last, to make sure that we learn from those lessons he taught us and move forward with them.”

Clearly, there were plenty of them.

[Chrebetfan80]

His loss is going to be felt by all, all season.  Truly great man, who had a great outlook on life.  Jets are a better team today for even the brief time that he spent there, but more importantly is the impact he had on everyone's lives.  

He'll be greatly missed. 

[FTL Jet Fan]

Besides Saleh Knapp was my favorite hire for this team and especially Wilson. We obviously lost a great one. I have some concerns as to how this will impact Wilson. Knapp was the man Steve Young stated Zach would be in good hands with when family and pundits talked about Wilson and the Jets. 

Knapp was the most experienced Coach on the offensive side of the ball, my concern is how Zach will handle this as Knapp was going to be  a big part of Wilson’s development and mentor. The Steve Young and Knapp relationship was what Wilson and family were most comfortable about him coming to NY. 
 

I know most don’t think we will hire someone else to replace Knapp which is a sad reality. It’s a huge blow for this team and Saleh is going to have to get this team motivated  and move this team forward in the face of adversity . Thoughts on if they hire someone or maybe someone is brought in? I know the options are limited. 
 

 

[More Cowbell]

First let me say what happened is a tragedy.  For the guy to die the way he did is just horrible. What I find incredible is how people seem to think this is going to be bad for Wilson. I mean who did this team hire to help Darnold and everyone seemed to think Darnold just sucked anyway. If Wilson has the goods, he will overcome the loss of Knapp. 

[Action Zachtion]

12 minutes ago, More Cowbell said:

First let me say what happened is a tragedy.  For the guy to die the way he did is just horrible. What I find incredible is how people seem to think this is going to be bad for Wilson. I mean who did this team hire to help Darnold and everyone seemed to think Darnold just sucked anyway. If Wilson has the goods, he will overcome the loss of Knapp. 

I don't know.  They like to talk about Wilson burning coaches out.  Was he talking to Knapp? 

I'm sure everyone Knapp knew is affected, but Wilson's development isn't dependant on one coach.  The early interviews made it sound like Knapp was already a big deal to Wilson, but I'm not sure what the day-to-day looked like. 

[FTL Jet Fan]

2 hours ago, More Cowbell said:

First let me say what happened is a tragedy.  For the guy to die the way he did is just horrible. What I find incredible is how people seem to think this is going to be bad for Wilson. I mean who did this team hire to help Darnold and everyone seemed to think Darnold just sucked anyway. If Wilson has the goods, he will overcome the loss of Knapp. 

Great point. The thing with Knapp is he knew how to get the best out of his players by understanding their skill set an applying it to their game plan. Knapp was excited to coach Wilson . It’s not that Wilson doesn’t have the potential but Greg Knapp would have helped tremendously, in my opinion. 
 

I still have faith in Wilson as our CS is less experienced without Knapp. He would have been key in assisting our first year NFL QB coach and OC.

 

[FTL Jet Fan]

2 hours ago, Action Zachtion said:

I don't know.  They like to talk about Wilson burning coaches out.  Was he talking to Knapp? 

I'm sure everyone Knapp knew is affected, but Wilson's development isn't dependant on one coach.  The early interviews made it sound like Knapp was already a big deal to Wilson, but I'm not sure what the day-to-day looked like. 

It was the Steve Young Gregg Knapp connection that made Zach comfortable from what I took away from the process of drafting Wilson as we know his parents initially were not to happy with him becoming a Jet.  That is where  where Young and Knapp stepped in to the process. 
 

I think the burning coaches out was in relation to his film study work ethic.
 

 

[Action Zachtion]

1 minute ago, FTL Jet Fan said:

It was the Steve Young Gregg Knapp connection that made Zach comfortable from what I took away from the process of drafting Wilson as we know his parents initially were not to happy with him becoming a Jet.  That is where  where Young and Knapp stepped in to the process. 
 

I think the burning coaches out was in relation to his film study work ethic.
 

 

Yeah I worded it poorly. 

When he had someone he wanted to talk with, was it Knapp?  If so, I imagine the impact is larger. 

[Charlie Brown]

3 hours ago, More Cowbell said:

First let me say what happened is a tragedy.  For the guy to die the way he did is just horrible. What I find incredible is how people seem to think this is going to be bad for Wilson. I mean who did this team hire to help Darnold and everyone seemed to think Darnold just sucked anyway. If Wilson has the goods, he will overcome the loss of Knapp. 

Just a thought...

I know it is in vogue to say the performer or athlete "A" would be great no matter what, and I for one don't buy it!

Look at Ali, the greatest boxer of his generation, he  had Angelo Dundee in his corner and trust me Dundee wasn't getting 10% of Ali's purses because he had nice teeth.....SMILES

It is simple:

Causes plus Conditions = Outcomes in life........

And no single cause alone can produce anything .........Nothing....

And this goes for planting an apple seed so it can become a tree or a person becoming the best at something.

At the end of the day...we always grow and thrive in relationship.....  And that is something I believe that Coach Knapp truly understood...

[More Cowbell]

35 minutes ago, Charlie Brown said:

Just a thought...

I know it is in vogue to say the performer or athlete "A" would be great no matter what, and I for one don't buy it!

Look at Ali, the greatest boxer of his generation, he  had Angelo Dundee in his corner and trust me Dundee wasn't getting 10% of Ali's purses because he had nice teeth.....SMILES

It is simple:

Causes plus Conditions = Outcomes in life........

And no single cause alone can produce anything .........Nothing....

And this goes for planting an apple seed so it can become a tree or a person becoming the best at something.

At the end of the day...we always grow and thrive in relationship.....  And that is something I believe that Coach Knapp truly understood...

I get what you are saying but to your point, Ali would have been a great fighter with or without Dundee. His talent was that great. Maybe it takes him another year, maybe two to become the greatest  the sport has ever seen but he gets there.

It will be the same for Zack. The cream rises to the top.

 

[docdhc]

I think from a football standpoint Zach will be fine. I hope that the Jets will honor Coach Knapp’s memory by using his teachings and doing everything they can to be successful this year. His loss from a human standpoint, however, will take time to get over. He was  by all accounts,  a great man. 

[carlito1171]

This truly sucks man....Knapp was one of my fav hires when Saleh started to assemble his staff. Was excited to see what he could do with Zach and the offense....life is so fragile man....throwing football to the side, I really feel for his family to have to go through this....my deepest condolences to them ??

[FTL Jet Fan]

12 hours ago, Action Zachtion said:

Yeah I worded it poorly. 

When he had someone he wanted to talk with, was it Knapp?  If so, I imagine the impact is larger. 

Good question,  I don’t have the answer to that just pure speculation. I would guess Knapp and LaFleur, most of times I saw Zach on the field Knapp was right there along with LaFleur.

[Greenbloodblitz]

That article brought me to tears. Say what you mean and mean what you say. You Don't know what you got till it's gone.