Steve Logan isn’t a coach with a national reputation, and he certainly isn’t a recognizable name in the Bay Area.
But when the 49ers selected him to be the team’s new quarterbacks coach – on the same day the team reportedly selected former quarterbacks coach Geep Chryst to be Jim Tomsula’s new offensive coordinator – San Francisco may have selected a perfect guide for quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
Logan, who has been an offensive assistant with the Tampa Bay Bucs, a coaching assistant with Tomsula in NFL Europe and a longtime college coach (who is the all-time winningest head coach in East Carolina history) believes in the playmaking ability of mobile quarterbacks. He’s also known for thinking outside the offensive box.
In a story Wednesday in the Wilmington, N.C. Star News, writer Brett Friedlander – who covers East Carolina football – called Logan “one of the most innovative offensive minds in the game” and referred to his “edgy style and unfiltered insights.” At East Carolina, he spread the field with his offenses and ran a wide-open passing attack. One coach said Logan liked to use "every inch" of the field.
During his career, he’s coached future NFL QBs Jeff Blake and David Garrard at East Carolina, Matt Ryan at Boston College and Josh Freeman with the Bucs. In recent years, Logan has made a name for himself as a sports radio talk-show host, and said on air Wednesday that Kaepernick is “my kind of guy – mobile, accurate and smart.”
It’s not known what kind of offensive changes Chryst might employ with the 49ers to take better advantage of Kaepernick’s skill set and GM Trent Baalke’s desire to have a run-first offense. But based on what Logan has said previously, it seems he would be an advocate for moving pockets, designed runs, the read option and other tactics to get Kaepernick more throwing lanes and opportunities to use his feet. Some analysts believe it was a mistake that the 49ers went away from the read option in 2014 and seemed intent on making Kaepernick more of a pocket passer.
Matt Barrows, who covers the 49ers for the Sacramento Bee, wrote Wednesday that Logan recently spoke on-air about his time as Tulsa offensive coordinator in the early 1980s when he came to the conclusion that “mobility at the quarterback position” is a prime weapon not only for attacking defenses but also for countering blitzes.
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“The offense plays with 10. The defense plays with 11,” Logan said, according to Barrows. “Therefore at any given time the defense can bring one more guy than I can protect with. When that happens, what are we going to do? We’re going to have Russell Wilson or Cam Newton or Aaron Rodgers – you guys got that? – and he’s going to run around and make guys miss and we’re going to score. That’s it. It’s a simple game.”
Sounds simple, but it certainly wasn’t for Kaepernick or the 49ers in 2014. Despite his mobility, Kaepernick was sacked 52 times, which doesn’t seem possible considering his speed. But it was a fact.
Now Logan and Chryst and Kaepernick will try to figure out together how to get better in 2015.
