In the Zone
With Jeff Garcia,
San Francisco 49ers Quarterback
WORDS Viet To, PHOTOGRAPHY Terrell Lloyd (www.rtlphotography.com)
Last season, Jeff Garcia became the first quarterback in 49ers history to throw for more than 30 touchdowns in back to back seasons. An amazing feat it was, considering his predecessors are future hall of famers Steve Young and Joe Montana. Jeff earned consecutive Pro Bowl trips as a result in only his second and third year in the NFL. Very little about the 32-year-old San Jose, California native resembles the profile of a prototypical quarterback. Jeff’s arm strength is marginal, his speed average, his height questionable, and his mechanics unorthodox. What Jeff lacks in physical attributes, however, he has more than made up with his heart, intelligence, and tenacity. Jeff joined Open Your Eyes recently to share some thoughts on his ascent to the pinnacle of NFL success.
I made you the
number one pick in my fantasy football draft. Production has been nowhere
near what I expected in 2002. What is going on?
(Laughs). I hear this all the time. I know the numbers have been on a
downside this year and that people are depending on me outside of the
organization in fantasy land. It definitely has been a bit of a struggle
with our offense this year. We are not clicking like we are capable of.
But just know that I am trying my best.
Let’s start
at the beginning of your career. You lettered in both football and basketball
in high school but did not receive a Division I scholarship. What were
your expectations back then?
Coming out of high school, I was still on the smaller side, still developing,
still maturing in a lot of ways. I really believed I was a good athlete
at the high school level—very productive as a quarterback for the
most part. I struggled a bit in my senior year because I fractured my
left elbow midway through the season, so I missed half the year and just
did not put up the numbers I was expecting. I loved playing basketball
and enjoyed both sports tremendously. It was not enough for me to get
noticed at the Division I schools or from any level for that matter. No
scholarships anywhere. I had the grades for a four year university, but
did not have the inclination because my heart was in athletics.
Appropriately enough,
your father was the head football coach at nearby Gavilon Community College
where you enrolled. What is it like playing for your dad?
The scenario worked out well for me, so it was an easy transition from
high school. My dad had been coaching there off and on for 20 plus years.
It was one of those things where I really enjoyed his style of teaching.
Growing up, I had a chance to watch him coach many different athletes
and saw the success that he was able to achieve having them reach as deep
inside themselves as possible to become better players, and more importantly,
better people. So being able to go and play for him was not a negative
thing in any way. It was so positive and a great opportunity for me to
hone my skills and continue to mature and have some success on the field.
I was able to do that. We were able to do that as a team. Playing that
one year was an experience my dad and I will always cherish forever. It
worked out well because it opened the door and I did get a scholarship
to San Jose State to continue my education and to continue to play the
sport I love.
You transferred
to San Jose State and became a three-year starter, breaking most of the
school’s passing records, which still stand today. What were some
of the other memorable things about your career there?
You have to understand that here I was living out my dream playing football.
There seem so many moments that I can remember. My first start ever as
a sophomore, I tied a school record by throwing five touchdown passes,
that was nice. I wished we were a more competitive team, a bowl team every
year, but I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it. I would like to think
that I contributed to making the team better. One of the outcomes of my
three years of accomplishments was to be invited to the East –West
Shrine All Star Game. That was huge! I was able to help the team come
back from a 28-7 fourth quarter deficit to win the game 29-28 and earn
Co-MVP honors. The moment was amazing because the game was played close
by at Stanford so my family was there to share the joy with me. Unbelievable
time.
With the accolades
coming your way, the NFL people must have noticed. What were the scouts
saying to you about the prospect of getting drafted?
It was not encouraging at all. I really believed that if scouts and
teams had looked at my sense of awareness, my field presence, the way
that I compete, the heart that I put into my game, and the mental focus
I possess, I would have had a shot at the NFL then and there. Unfortunately,
these things did not weigh as heavily as my size and my arm strength,
which were knocked down. I was small as far as quarterbacks go and did
not have a cannon of an arm, but I have never seen those characteristics
as a problem in myself. They just thought that it was more important.
I was not allowed an opportunity to get into an NFL training camp or even
have any lip from an NFL team. There just was not any interest out there.
The only look I got was from the Canadian Football League so I went for
it.
You went undrafted
in the 1994 NFL draft. The Calgary Stampeders of the CFL was your new
destination where you earned a backup job behind someone whose story sounds
familiar to yours, Doug Flutie. How did that relationship work out?
I had a great time playing alongside Doug Flutie. In many ways, he
was a major contributor to me being a better player on the football field.
I watched Doug, saw how he played the game, learned from him. It was such
a positive experience to be able to witness the many amazing things he
was able to do. The way he leads the team, his athletic ability, his commitment
to the game, his strive for excellence, they were unmatched by anyone
else. I was able to take a lot from that and bring them out in myself
when I got onto the field. I backed Doug up for a year and a half, and
then he went down with a knee injury. It was one of those moments where
you either take advantage of the opportunity or you let the opportunity
pass you by. And I was not about to let it pass me by. I stepped in for
an injured Doug and never looked bad. I saw that as my moment to show
what I was capable of doing. Fortunately for me, I was surrounded by good
players and we were able to do some great things. Doug left for Toronto
and I was the starter for the next three years.
Tell us about your
last year there.
Well, I’ll tell you. I was living for the moment, day by day,
really enjoying the moment. The people around me were awesome. Side by
side with my teammates, we worked as hard as possible that year for our
only goal, which was to win the Grey Cup. And the way we were able to
do it, having the drive in the last two minutes and then to win it on
the last play of the game. It was so incredible. That is what you strive
for as an athlete – to be able reach the very top. At that moment,
there wasn’t anything better than that. We were a team and we won
it all.
You were playing
football in a frozen country that gave the world hockey. Are the fans
as passionate for the game as they are down here?
They really are in many ways. It may not get the overall support that
the NFL has down here based upon the marketing tools that the NFL has,
nor the money to spread around to create the wealth. What you do have
is a league that has been around for a long time. It is exciting football
and brings creative and intricate rules to give a different scope and
feel to the game. The fans were very supportive. Calgary was so welcoming
to outsiders in the sense that here we were moving to a new country and
city as far as the Americans go. The city absolutely embraced our families
and us and really made us feel comfortable.
What is your favorite
CFL rule that is not in the NFL?
Actually, several of them. They do not have a fair catch rule for
punts—talk about crazy guys returning the ball. The other nice thing
is that the punter, if he recovers his own punt, can recover the ball
that way, sort of like an onside kick. Also, if the kickoff goes in the
end zone and the receiving team cannot return the ball out of the end
zone, then the kicking team gets a point. Overall, I think the dynamics
of the kicking game is more fun in the CFL. The other cool thing is that
you have only three downs to get a first down. So there are more four
and five receiver sets. This coupled with wider sidelines just really
open things up.
You won the Grey
Cup in your last season in 1998 and were named MVP along with being an
All-Canadian QB and West Division All-Star. Solid accomplishments. How
did the NFL come into the picture again?
It was a bit unusual. Before my last year, I had come to the conclusion
that I was probably not going to get an NFL opportunity. I don’t
know if I became complacent, but I was really happy with where my life
was at that point. I was working hard on the field with my teammates,
improving on my skills, and enjoying the lifestyle that Calgary had to
offer. I had no complaints. But it was shortly thereafter that Doug Flutie
made a big splash with the Buffalo Bills. He played well and made the
Pro Bowl his first year back to the NFL. That really opened up the eyes
of the NFL to the CFL and the abilities of the players there. Scouts basically
took wind of that and looked at me and saw the productivity that I had
had for three seasons as a starter. There were a handful of teams that
took interest in me and gave me tryouts.
The Oakland Raiders
were one of those teams. They opted instead to sign Heisman winner Andre
Ware as a backup. We know how that ended up. Was it fate that brought
you back home and united you with your favorite childhood team?
The Raiders had Rich Gannon there, who was just starting to come into
his own. Rich had a tremendous work ethic and was a great leader, so the
writing was sort of on the wall. I also had the choice of going down to
Miami where Dan Marino was in his twilight. Who knows? I might have been
in either place carrying the clipboard. The way I look at it; of course,
you have to be a little lucky sometimes. But I believe that you create
your own luck as well. You have to take advantage of certain opportunities,
which would in turn produce more good fortune. It also helps to know certain
people and have those people believe in you. Then it’s just a matter
of proving those people correct. Fortunately, I had Bill Walsh in my corner
who recognized my talents. There was no Bill Walsh or this coaching staff
in Oakland or Miami. Everything just felt right and came together with
the 49ers.
In the spring of
1999 you earned the backup job to Steve Young. During the third game that
fall, Steve suffered a concussion, which eventually ended his career.
Were your prepared for what happened next?
It was a very turbulent time. Things were going to change with my
job, my position with this team, and with my life. At the time, it looked
like another great opportunity had been presented to me, and I felt I
was ready to assume the leading role. Little did I know what I would go
through in the next 14 weeks being the starter for the 49ers. I grew up
watching Joe Montana and later on Steve Young and saw how they elevated
the quarterback position. The thing was, great players and great coaches
also surrounded them. This is not to say that we did not have either that
year. But there was a transition taking place. There was a change in this
team with the look and the direction we were heading. The outcome reflected
it with us ending the season at 4-12. It was bad and I started to shoulder
so much of that pressure on myself trying to be the next Young, the next
Montana. But I still had so much to learn. Our offensive system is a very
complex one. It was truly a trial by fire. In many ways, I am thankful
for that because I had to grow up fast. I had to become focused in. I
had to learn to survive. I think this made me become the quarterback that
I am today, to become a Pro Bowler, to become the leader of the 49ers.
Was there any point
in that season where your confidence was shot?
Yes, I did experience a situation where my confidence hit an all time
low. I have always been a person that has the utmost confidence in my
own abilities. I have always given my best in everything I do. I have
always been able to overcome obstacles. Here was a situation where I was
unable to overcome certain things. That is when I really started to doubt
myself. I started to doubt whether this was the right situation for me.
I did not like the fact that there was so much scrutiny and so much negativity
being said out there. Not so much in the sense of how it affected me,
but how it affected my family. They lived in this area. They had to listen
to it on TV and the radio. They had to read it, they had to hear it from
people they knew. That is what I think bothered me the most or what I
allowed to get to me the most: the outside distractions that I had no
control of. It was miserable. But my family hung tough and we made it
through together.
Most fans were
not pleased about the way the year played out and the fact that you were
kept around as the starter for the following season. You responded with
a monstrous year in 2000 and earned your first Pro Bowl. What happened
during the off-season to get this result?
It was a compete dedication of myself to become a quicker, smarter,
physically and mentally stronger quarterback. I immersed myself into working
out and learning more and preparing more efficiently. We recognized that
this was a young team in many ways, a team with new faces. Collectively
we came together with a mission for the next year. I started to play with
a sort of reckless abandon, more to my style. I also played carefree in
the sense of not worrying about what people were thinking or saying. I
changed my attitude as to what I focused on, what was important to me.
All that became important to me was what my teammates thought, what my
friends thought, and what my family thought. I kept it close to my belt
and ignored what everyone outside of this circle was saying. This is what
allowed me to maintain a focus on becoming a better quarterback, a better
teammate, a better leader for this team.
You have certainly
proved to be a success with your performance. Do you feel any vindication?
I do. People would always come to me and say “Don’t you
feel like saying something back to all of the people who doubted you or
putting it back in their faces?” But I think the best form of retribution
are the actions that take place on the football field. Those speak louder
than any words can ever speak and I take value from that. I do not need
to say it. I do not need to tell any scouts or any reporters I told you
so or anything like that. I just needed to allow my abilities to speak
for themselves. I was able to go out there and do some very positive things
with some tremendous guys around me. We did it together. In many ways,
the focus goes on the quarterback because it is rightfully the focal position
on any team. I really believed all along that I was doing this position
justice.
Why do you wear
the number 5 jersey?
I always wore the number 12 when I was younger because that is such
a traditional quarterback number. When I went to San Jose St. that number
was already taken so they gave me the number 5 jersey. Well, my mom always
referred to my immediate family as the Garcia 5. I have two younger sisters
and with my parents and I that made 5. It became a symbol of our family
in certain ways. I couldn’t wear it in Calgary because it was a retired
number there. Back here with the 49ers, it is now a representation of
what we have been through as a family. The other reason I wear it is that
it is not a popular number with quarterbacks. In a way, I am trying to
create and build on a tradition of 5 being a good number. We’ll see
what happens.
We had a tie this
year between Pittsburgh and Atlanta. What do you think of ties in the
NFL and the overtime format in general?
I am not completely against it because we have won in this format.
But if you had to compare it to the rules at the college level, then I
think I prefer the college version better. I think it is more exciting.
It creates a better outcome because there is no ending to the game until
someone wins. I don’t think there should be ties. A decision needs
to be made.
Best stadium you
have ever played in?
I have not played in all of them so it is not a final decision. But
it would have to be the Jacksonville Jaguars’ stadium. When you look
at the overall perception of how a game should be played and viewed, that
is the place. Great locker rooms, great grass, they have it all. It is
certainly not our stadium. I cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel
for us. It is very disappointing considering the history of this team
and what this organization has accomplished for the Bay Area. Sad, very
sad that the players and the fans do not get a stadium built for football.
How about nightlife,
what is the coolest city to hang out in?
We do not get to experience too much nightlife on the road. If I had
to give you a city, New Orleans is nice. But this is a situation where
we are so business-oriented. We are there for such a short period of time.
And because of the NFL season, the importance of every single game every
week, there is not really that much time to go out and about and explore
and screw around. I cannot say that this is disappointing because we are
there for a reason. It is our job. With curfews and security, there is
not a lot of time to focus on anything outside of football.
You have achieved
significant success. What is your take on how a person should handle their
fame. Should there be an obligation for the person to become a role model?
I think everyone is going to have a different take on it. My approach
to it is that it is my responsibility to be as positive a role model as
possible. The main reason is that for a fact there are thousands of kids
out there who admire you and look up to you. I want to be a positive representation.
I want kids to appreciate what I do on the field and what I do off of
it. Some professional athletes do not want to assume the role model aspect
of it because they only want to reap certain benefits of what they do
but yet not necessarily give anything back. I think it is important to
me because of the way I was raised by my parents. I am not only myself
but I am representing them. And in no way do I want to embarrass my family.
Now of course, it can certainly get out of hand if your privacy is constantly
being violated maybe by out of control autograph seekers or people who
want to make money off of you. I can tell you that with the newfound success
I have had, it has been tough in the sense that your sense of self does
erode a little bit. You become a much larger vision in everyone’s
eyes with everything that you do so it becomes important that you are
not out there lessening what you are all about by some of the decisions
that you make.
One of the causes
you have participated in is the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, the nation’s
leading Hispanic educational organization. Can you tell us what that is
all about for you?
It is a great opportunity for me to be able to lend my popularity
so to speak, my newfound fame to a positive cause. When I came back to
the Bay area, I really wanted to be able to help the Hispanic community.
Not because it has been overlooked but rather because it is a community
that is growing in so many ways and sort of lacking enough role models.
The fact that I am half Mexican and grew up in an environment surrounded
by the culture and really loved being a part of the culture, I wanted
to give something back in some way. And one of those ways is through education.
Being part of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund has allowed me to become a
part of this great organization that raises money to help Hispanic students
to fulfill their goals and dreams of graduating from college. I want to
lend my hand to a cause that helps children aspire to be something better,
aspire to dream of something that maybe they have not conceptualized yet.
I think I am a poster child for someone who overcomes obstacles, someone
who accomplishes something once you put your mind and heart to it. Oftentimes,
kids out there need to realize that. They need to see somebody who has
done that. It may be in a different field or they may have different interests,
but what it comes down to is that no one is just going to hand you a great
life. You are going to have to work and be able to achieve to present
yourself with a better life. By me becoming a part of this and to raise
money to help kids obtain their education, it has been a satisfying endeavor.
All of your hard
work, all of your persistence has paid off. Did you ever imagine your
life would turn out this good?
I don’t think so. Being from a small town such as Gilroy, a place
where I grew up very humble, a place where I appreciated all the little
things in life, I never imagined that my life would be this big, this
large. Being able to live this dream has by far exceeded anything I have
ever imagined. It is amazing. I do not need to think about it anymore.
I do not need to focus on achieving it anymore. I am living a dream!
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