He Helped Build a Dynasty

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He broke his hand and lost his offers from major programs.

But after landing at a small D3 school, he made the most of his opportunity.

Now he’s quickly running out of fingers for his Super Bowl rings.

Let’s dive in 👇

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Meet the Small-School QB Whisperer Behind an NFL Dynasty

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“To reach your own goals and dreams, you must learn how to assist others in reaching theirs.” – Joe Gibbs, two-time NFL Coach of the Year

Elite coaches, much like elite athletes, can come from anywhere.

The Kansas City Chiefs’ quarterbacks coach is no different.

You wouldn't recognize David Girardi if you passed him on the street.

Yet he’s been an integral part of the team’s offensive staff since 2018, the same year Patrick Mahomes took over as the starting QB.

Since then, the results have been stellar.

Kansas City has won three Super Bowl championships and Mahomes has accumulated three Super Bowl MVPs and two league MVPs.

While the superstar QB traveled a conventional path – through a Division I powerhouse – Girardi’s journey began in an unlikely place.

He was born and raised in New Kensington, Pennsylvania – a suburb of Pittsburgh and home to 12,000 people.

After his freshman year at Valley High School, his family moved 1,000 miles south to St. Petersburg, Florida.

He went from a state with all four seasons to warm weather year-round.

“I’d miss the snow when I was there and come back [to Pennsylvania] for Christmas break,” he said in 2009.

“Then I’d wonder why I missed winter.”

In Florida, he had to make new friends, connect with new teammates, and learn how to be a starting high school quarterback.

Luckily, there were familiar faces at St. Petersburg Catholic to help his transition. 

His father, Frank, and older brother, Mike, joined the team as assistant coaches.

In fact, the Girardi family is full of football coaches.

His father, uncle, and two older brothers all coached at the high school or college level.

On the side, his dad also sold headsets and other communication devices to coaches.

“I think that was instilled in (David), ‘Hey, we are a coaching family,’” Frank Girardi said.

“I am sure it’s something that he’s always had a desire to do.”

David was a three-year starter for St. Petersburg Catholic.

His 6'1" frame and understanding of the game grabbed the attention of college recruiters.

But a broken hand deflated the interest of Division I schools like Akron and Purdue.

That’s when he found Geneva, a private Christian college not far from his hometown in Pennsylvania.

When David committed, Geneva’s football program was in the middle of a transition from NAIA to NCAA Division III.

The move meant no athletic scholarships, stricter academic standards, and a whole new level of competition.

“David always wanted every play to be perfect,” said Geneva College head coach Geno DeMarco.

“I could see that he was a student of the game, and we spent a lot of time watching practice and game film.”

Those extra hours paid off.

Girardi took the reins as the starting quarterback as a sophomore and never let go.

In 30 career starts, he threw for 5,997 yards and 37 touchdowns.

“If the game was played the way everyone plays it now,” DeMarco said, “his numbers would have been outrageous.”

In 2009, he led Geneva to a “dramatic comeback victory” in the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Victory Bowl.

He was also an NCCAA All-American in his final two college seasons.

But before he knew it, his playing days were coming to an end.

“When you’re young, you always want to play the game as long as you can,” Girardi said.

“You have visions of being a player (in the NFL). Then, you realize it’s not cut out for everybody. Then, what’s the next alternative?”

For David, the answer was obvious.  He was a Girardi after all.

In 2011, he started as a graduate assistant at D2 Seton Hill University.

After two seasons there, he returned to coach quarterbacks at his alma mater.

“He was tremendous at preparing our quarterbacks,” said DeMarco.

“We were one of the top offenses in the conference during his time on staff.”

With David in charge of the passing attack, Geneva broke many single-game and single-season school passing records.

The early success led to his first big break – an offer from Northwestern University to work as their quality control coach.

Girardi joined a staff that included former NFL journeyman Mike Kafka. That connection would pay dividends later.

“He really learned defense at Northwestern and that was the best thing he could do – to learn what the other side does,” DeMarco said.

“You could see it in him, that he had what it took to be a success.”

After three seasons with the Wildcats, Girardi moved on to Lafayette College to serve as the quarterbacks coach.

There, he helped a true freshman quarterback break the school record for completions.

A few months later, his phone rang.

“Hey David, it’s Andy Reid.”

At first, he must’ve thought it was a prank.

But it turned out to be very real.  His old buddy Mike Kafka had recommended him for a quality control job with the Chiefs.

If there was a football equivalent to the American Dream, this was it:

• Division III QB

• Division II grad assistant

• Division III QB coach

• Division I quality control coach and defensive assistant

• Division I QB coach

• NFL quality control coach

In 2021, he earned a promotion to assistant quarterbacks coach and pass game analyst.

Two years later, he took over as the top quarterbacks coach.

The days are long, especially for someone with David’s work ethic.

“Believe me, he’s a grinder,” said his father, Frank.

“He gets there at 5 o’clock in the morning, always one of the first ones there when they open.”

His day ends after midnight.  Then the schedule repeats the next day.

Ahead of his first Super Bowl appearance, Girardi showed poise under pressure.

“A lot of things are external, as far as the changes, the limelight, the media, the number of fans at the game,” David said.

“But a lot of the internal stuff, as far game-planning and football being football, is the same. That’s what’s kind of neat about it.”

As the cherry on top, he was inducted into the Geneva College Athletics Hall of Fame in 2022 for his achievements as a player.

He’s come a long way since then.

Now seven seasons deep into his NFL coaching career, David Girardi is quickly running out of fingers for his Super Bowl rings.

“You grow when you are uncomfortable,” he said in 2019.

“I've been at five places in eight years, at all different levels, coaching both offense and defense, and I've grown because of it.  It's laid a solid foundation for me to build upon."

🐶 

Today’s story was written by yours truly in collaboration with D3 Direct, the go-to source for reliable D3 athletics recruiting & admissions information.  Go check it out!

Here are two more stories you might also like:

• Meet the California Beach Bum Who Became a Hockey Hall of Famer

• How Jimmy Butler Went From Couch Surfing Teen to NBA Superstar

What did you think of today’s story?

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Thanks in advance for making your voice heard! I appreciate your input.

Enjoy the football games today and Go Birds 🦅 

Til next time,
Tyler

Extra Innings…

📖 The A.J. Brown Book Club is the ultimate feel-good story of the NFL playoffs. Per Sports Illustrated, author Jim Murphy was “nearly $90,000 in debt following the completion of the book and, following a near cosmic string of circumstances…his life began to change as his book was picked up by one high-performing athlete”

👀 Reader submission: Johnny Jackson is scoring 25 points per game while battling Stage 4B Hodgkin's lymphoma. Oh yeah, and he already broke his high school’s scoring record.

🏈 JJ Watt might have a problem. He told goalkeeper James Trafford he’d come out of retirement if Trafford didn’t allow a goal for the rest of the season. “This is starting to become a bit of a concern…”

🌟 Trivia Answer: A) Oakland A’s. Their 2024 payroll was less than half of the Detroit Pistons’ cap allocation.

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