Jimmy Garoppolo‘s journey through the NFL is a circuitous one. From backing up the GOAT to starting for the San Francisco 49ers to the IR and back, and then back to the IR, then benched in Las Vegas. Now, Garoppolo finds himself on the Los Angeles Rams, (a team he has beaten 8 of 9 times) returning to a backup role behind Matthew Stafford. Garoppolo really has seen it all.
Having been a part of four different organizations has given him perspective on best practices and maybe more importantly, how not to run a team. Garoppolo shared with Jeff Howe of The Athletic how much he appreciates playing for the Rams organization. According to Howe, Garoppolo was impressed by, head coach, Sean McVay after a pre-signing phone call. He also wanted to spend time learning Stafford’s process.
Jimmy Garoppolo Impressed By McVay, Rams
Since joining the team, apparently, he has continued to be impressed;
“They do it in the right way here. They push you positively. There’s just a lot of good things going on, man. I’m enjoying every bit of it. Even the meetings are a good time.”
This hasn’t always been the case for the Eastern Illinois alum. He contrasted the Rams with his previous stomping grounds in the NFL
“This place allows you to be yourself, too, which is different than other places I’ve been.”
“It was chaotic at times.”
Garoppolo didn’t single out one former team. Although, of the 63 games he has started over 87 percent of them were played in one place, San Francisco under Kyle Shanahan. Shanahan is notoriously pedantic with quarterbacks. He also played under Bill Belichick in New England and his protege Josh McDaniels with the Raiders. The “Patriot Way” is another example of a harsher brand of coaching that Garoppolo may be referring to.
McVay announced that Garoppolo won’t play in the Rams preseason games. Garoppolo will miss the first two games of the regular season due to a suspension for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing substance policy. After serving his ban, his career comes full circle as he resumes his backup quarterback duties, the position from which he first rose to prominence.
