The NFL and multiple college football programs recently received sad news with the passing of former coach Steve Kragthorpe.
Kragthorpe, 59, had been battling Parkinson’s since 2011.
One of his former players in former Pro Bowl quarterback Matt Hasselbeck paid tribute on social media to his old Boston College quarterback coach.
“Steve was an accomplished football coach, but more important than his football expertise, I greatly appreciate the life lessons he often shared with our QB room. Special guy who made an impact on many, including me,” Hasselbeck recently wrote.
Sad to learn of the passing of my former QB coach at BC, Steve Kragthorpe. Steve was an accomplished football coach, but more important than his football expertise, I greatly appreciate the life lessons he often shared with our QB room. Special guy who made an impact on many,…
— Matt Hasselbeck (@Hasselbeck) August 6, 2024
Kragthorpe played quarterback at both Eastern New Mexico and West Texas in the mid-80s before becoming an offensive assistant at the college level for a decade starting in 1990 at Northern Arizona.
He also coached the quarterbacks at Boston College (1996) and Texas A&M (1997-2000) before joining the Buffalo Bills for multiple seasons (2001-2002).
Later on, after returning to the college level, he became the head coach at both Tulsa (2003-2006) and Louisville (2007-2009) before finishing up his coaching career as the quarterbacks coach at LSU (2011-2012).
Between his time at Tulsa and Louisville, he took his teams to four bowl games with Tulsa notably winning the Liberty Bowl in 2005.
In addition to coaching Hasselbeck at Boston College, Kragthorpe also coached Drew Bledsoe to a Pro Bowl appearance in Buffalo with the Bills.
The former Conference USA champion was a winner at the college level and had a unique understanding of the quarterback position.
However, as Hasselbeck notes, he had a better understanding of people and how to make an impact on them.
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