Jeff Rutledge

Jeffrey Ronald Rutledge (born January 22, 1957) is an American football coach and former professional quarterback. He is currently the head football coach at Pope John Paul II High School in Hendersonville, Tennessee.

Early years
Rutledge was born and reared in Birmingham, Alabama. He was part of a team that earned back-to-back state titles at L. Frazier Banks High School in Birmingham, Alabama.

College career
Rutledge played collegiately at Alabama, where he was a member of three SEC Championship teams and a National Championship team under Coach  Paul "Bear" Bryant.

Playing career
Drafted in the ninth round of the 1979 NFL Draft (246th overall pick) by the Los Angeles Rams, Rutledge played in 14 NFL seasons from 1979 to 1992 for three different teams. He was a backup in Super Bowl XIV as a member of the Los Angeles Rams, he played in Super Bowl XXI as a member of the New York Giants, and was a backup in Super Bowl XXVI as a member of the Washington Redskins.

Rutledge spent most of his career as a back-up QB and a holder on kicks. His finest moment as a professional player came when as a member of the Redskins he came off the bench in a game versus the Detroit Lions in 1990. Trailing 35-14 with 10:37 left in the third quarter Rutledge replaced an ineffective Stan Humphries and led a great comeback. He completied 30 of 42 passes for 363 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 12 yards for the game tying touchdown with only 24 seconds remaining. In overtime, he hit Art Monk with a vital 40 yard pass on third and 15 to help set up Chip Lohmiller's game winning field goal.

That game meant that Rutledge got the nod to start the following week on Monday Night against the Philadelphia Eagles in a game that was to become infamously known as the "Body Bag Game". Rutledge, first, and then Stan Humphries were knocked out of the game, leaving emergency quarterback Brian Mitchell (a kick returner and former college quarterback) to finish the game. Rutledge would never start an NFL game again but he did see spot duty in relief of returning starter Mark Rypien in the Skins 1991 Super Bowl Championship season, including some playing time in the Skins last game of the regular season, again against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Coaching career
In the spring of 2007 Rutledge got his first NFL coaching job when he was hired as quarterbacks coach with the NFL's Arizona Cardinals, with direct charge over Kurt Warner. That year, the Cardinals made a late season run and earned a Super Bowl berth, but lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 27-23. When the Cardinals hired a new offensive coordinator at the end of that season, Rutledge and most of the offensive staff were fired.

Rutledge served as the quarterbacks and tight ends coach for the New York Sentinels of the United Football League in 2009.

In April 2010, Rutledge agreed to become the head football coach at Pope John Paul II High School in Hendersonville, Tennessee. Rutledge led Montgomery Bell Academy to a 41-17 record from 2002-2006, with two state titles in 2002 and 2003 and a #15 ranking in the final USA Today Super 25 poll in 2003.