Tom Clements

This article is about the American football coach. For the fictional character from EastEnders, see Tom Clements (EastEnders). For the Green Party candidate for a South Carolina Senate seat, see Tom Clements (politician).

Tom Clements

No. 2
Quarterback
Personal information
Date of birth: June 18, 1953 (1953-06-18)
Place of birth: McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania
Career information
College: Notre Dame
Debuted in 1975
Last played in 1987
Career history
Playing career Ottawa Rough Riders (1975-1978) Saskatchewan Roughriders (1979) Hamilton Tiger-Cats (1979) Kansas City Chiefs (1980) Hamilton Tiger-Cats (1981-1982) Winnipeg Blue Bombers (1983-1987) Coaching career Notre Dame Fighting Irish (QB) (1992-1995) New Orleans Saints (QB) (1997-1999) Kansas City Chiefs (QB) (2000) Pittsburgh Steelers (QB) (2001-2004) Buffalo Bills (OC) (2004-2005) Green Bay Packers (QB) (2006-2012) Green Bay Packers (OC) (2012-present)
Career highlights and awards
2x Grey Cup champion 7x CFL divisional all-star CFL's Rookie of the Year (1975) CFL's MVP (1987) Superbowl XLV (coach)
TD-INT	252-214 (CFL only)
Yards	39,041 (CFL only)
Completion %	60.3 (CFL only)
Stats at NFL.com
Canadian Football Hall of Fame

Thomas Albert Clements (born June 18, 1953) is an American football coach and a former CFL quarterback. He is currently the offensive coordinator of the Green Bay Packers of the NFL.

Playing career

High School

Clements attended Canevin Catholic High School. Clements was a four year letterman in both football and basketball. He was also offered a basketball scholarship at North Carolina, but decided to play football instead. He is the only athlete in Canevin history to have his jersey retired.^{[citation needed]}

College

Clements was the starting quarterback for the Notre Dame football team from 1972 to 1974 and led the team to a national championship in 1973. In the Dec 31, 1973 Sugar Bowl matchup against Alabama, Clements had a 3rd-and-9 Hail Mary completion from his own end zone with 2:00 left to secure a 24-23 victory. In 1974, Clements finished fourth in the voting for the Heisman Trophy and was voted a first-team All-American.

Professional

After graduation, Clements began a career in the Canadian Football League, quarterbacking the Ottawa Rough Riders for four seasons and winning the league’s Rookie-of-the-Year award in his inaugural campaign. The next season he helped to lead the team to what became the Rough Riders' last Grey Cup victory. After taking a powerful hit, a woozy Clements threw a pass to tight-end Tony Gabriel in the end zone, a catch which became famous in defeating the Saskatchewan Roughriders.^{[citation needed]}

During his time with Ottawa Clements shared the passing duties with Condredge Holloway, from 1975 to 1977 as the quarterback getting the most playing time. In 1978 their stats were comparable, except for Holloway throwing only two interceptions to 12 by Clements.^{[citation needed]}

Clements continued his career with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 1979, but did not fare well, throwing only two touchdowns to 11 interceptions and being replaced by Danny Sanders. However a trade to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats quickly rejuvenated Clements and he led the CFL in passing yards with 2,803, the last to do so with less than 3,000 yards.^{[citation needed]} In 1980, Clements was briefly on the roster of the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs, coached by former Montreal Alouette head coach Marv Levy, but was the third string quarterback for a team that stressed the running game. In 1981 Clements returned to the Tiger-Cats and threw for 4,536 yards. He bested his numbers the next season with 4,706 yards. In 1983 Clements was traded from Hamilton to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for long-time Blue Bomber quarterback Dieter Brock. The next year those two teams, Hamilton and Winnipeg, faced each other in the Grey Cup. Clements led the Bombers to their first Grey Cup victory since 1962. In 1986 he set a new completion percentage record with 67.5, 173 out of 256. Clements finished his playing career with Winnipeg in 1987 and was also named the league's Most Outstanding Player. He finished his CFL career with over 39,000 passing yards, 252 passing touchdowns and a 60.35 completion percentage. In 2005, for the 75th anniversary of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Clements was selected one of the Bombers 20 all-time great players. In addition, in November, 2006, he was voted one of the CFL's Top 50 players (#47) of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network TSN.

Coaching career

In 1992, Clements was hired as quarterbacks coach for Notre Dame, where he served until 1995 under head coach Lou Holtz. After practicing law in 1996, Clements took his first NFL job, working as the quarterback coach for the New Orleans Saints from 1997 to 1999. Clements would hold the same job in 2000 with the Kansas City Chiefs, and between 2001 and 2003 with the Pittsburgh Steelers; under Clements’s tutelage, the Chiefs’ Elvis Grbac (in 2000) and the Steelers’ Kordell Stewart (in 2001) and Tommy Maddox (in 2002) each reached the Pro Bowl.

In 2004 and 2005 Clements served as offensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills, but was released by the team after a front-office shakeup in which Marv Levy, his coach with the Chiefs in 1980, assumed the position of general manager and ultimately installed Dick Jauron as the team’s new head coach. Upon the hiring of Mike McCarthy to be the head coach of the Packers on January 11, 2006, the Packers parted ways with several assistant coaches, and McCarthy later interviewed NFL Europe head coach Steve Logan and Clements, settling on Clements on January 28, 2006.

During Clements time as the quarterbacks coach with the Green Bay Packers, he has worked with starting quarterbacks: Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers, and Matt Flynn. In 2007, Favre statistically had one of his best seasons with the Green Bay Packers, taking them to the NFC Championship game. Clements is also credited for assisting in the development of one of the game's elite quarterbacks in Aaron Rodgers, as the only player in NFL history to throw for 4,000+ yards during his first two years as a starting quarterback in 2008 and 2009, and winning Super Bowl XLV and Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award in Rodgers' third year as a starting quarterback in 2010. In Week 17 of the 2011 season, after the Packers went 14-1, head coach Mike McCarthy chose to deactivate Rodgers to keep him healthy for the playoffs and start backup quarterback, Matt Flynn, on January 1, 2012 at Lambeau Field vs. the Detroit Lions, Flynn's second start in his career. Throughout the game, Clements worked with Flynn on the sidelines, showing him what to look for in the photos from the previous offensive series. Flynn had a record setting performance, throwing for 480 yards and 6 touchdowns, both single game records for the Green Bay Packers.

Personal

While still in the CFL, Clements pursued a Juris Doctor degree, graduating magna cum laude from Notre Dame Law School in 1986. Upon the completion of his playing career, he practiced law in Chicago for five years.

References

Sporting positions
Preceded by Kevin Gilbride	Buffalo Bills offensive coordinators 2004 - 2005	Succeeded by Steve Fairchild
Preceded by Darrell Bevell	Green Bay Packers quarterback coaches 2006 - 2011	Succeeded by Vacant
Preceded by Joe Philbin	Green Bay Packers offensive coordinators 2012 - present	Succeeded by Current