Though his playing days may be behind him, that doesn’t mean that Jeff Garcia is just sitting around — quite the opposite actually.
The Gilroy native and former 49ers and Raiders quarterback is keeping busy, appearing Mondays and Fridays on NFL AM on the NFL Network as well as a weekly appearance on KNBR radio in addition to raising four young children.
Garcia battles through early mornings — he has to be in studio at 3 a.m. — and sleepless nights, but says it’s all worth to still be involved with the game he loves. That passion for football is something that’s still burning inside of him, something he doesn’t see fading out any time soon.
“I think the work ethic and the drive and commitment that I’ve always put into the game definitely hasn’t left,” he said. “Even though I’m 43-years-old right now and I’m not necessarily looking to continue to play, I still have that competitive spirit.
“When I got my shot, I made the most of it. It seems like I’ve always had to fight that battle. I’m the underdog and I enjoy that role, I feel like that makes me more hungry and keeps me passionate about things.”
As a player, Garcia said he often thought about what life after football would be like. Being a professional analyst was always on his mind and he’s thankful that he’s now getting the opportunity to explore if it’s truly for him or not.
On the other hand, he finds himself pulled towards coaching. As the son of local football coaching legend Bobby Garcia, Jeff can’t help but let the thought of following in his father’s footsteps enter his mind. Football and coaching are two things that run through his blood as it wasn’t only his father, but grandfather and uncles who used their knowledge of the sport to help teach others.
Jeff has already begun dabbling in the world of coaching, running the Jeff Garcia Football Camp which works with high school, college and professional quarterbacks to improve their skills. It’s a unique experience for young QBs to work with someone who has as much experience and success as Jeff has — not to mention someone who has such a deep love and respect for the game to boot. He said that these new endeavors derive from an innate need to continue challenging himself just as he did in his playing days.
“I could probably be totally retired right now, but that’s just not in my makeup — it’s not in my DNA,” he said. “I need to be doing something, I need to be challenged. I need to be out there pursuing something. Not just for myself, but I love to have the opportunity to inspire others.
“That’s what I had to do, that’s what my approach was on the football field, within the lockerroom, amongst my teammates. I was always the leader, I always felt like not only was I going to inspire myself to be the best that I can be, but I wanted to raise the level of the people around me and bring them up, focus on the positives and encourage people — I still want to do that.”
But all of Jeff’s success hasn’t come without a price. From the get go he has had to learn how to overcome the adversity — especially on the personal level. By the time he was 8-years-old, he had already lost two siblings — his younger brother Jason who drowned and then 14 months later his younger sister Kimberly who passed away after falling out of a truck. Dealing with so much at such a young age, Jeff said, prepared him for life’s challenges and he’s thankful he was able to find a positive outlet in sports.
“Maybe it wasn’t so much a mindset where everyday I woke up and told myself that I’m going to live to the fullest,” Jeff said. “I think what my approach did become was if sports were my answer to bringing happiness into my life and into my family’s life, I’m going to be the best that I can be while I have the opportunity to partake in these sports. I never knew or realized that it would lead me to being a professional athlete, but at the time, I just wanted to put a smile on my family’s face — I want to be a winner.”
Even at 43, Jeff is still looking for his life calling. It could be as an analyst, a coach or working in the front office for a team, but one thing is for sure: He still wants to be a Super Bowl Champion. How he accomplishes that, however, is something that only time will tell. Garcia recently reached out to the Cleveland Browns about filling their need for a quarterback, but it appears his offer fell upon deaf ears.
“There’s definitely things that are brewing inside of me all the time,” he said. “I like to stay close to the wheelhouse that I’m familiar with and that is the game of football and sports. I want it to be interactive with that, I just don’t know what it is that’s my calling as of yet. I think there’s multiple things that I’m interested in, it’s just a matter of what that journey, what that path is going to create and how I’m going to get out there and master it.”
