Getsy’s playing career
People say that former players can make the best coaches, and like many of the coaches who Antonio Pierce hired, Luke Getsy had a football career of his own. He began his college football years as a quarterback at the University of Pittsburgh, where he played alongside future Hall of Fame wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald. He got to see one of the best pass catchers of all time go to work every day, which surely helped his understanding of how to coach not only wide receivers, but the passing game as a whole.
Getsy then transferred to the University of Akron where he set the world on fire for two seasons. He was the starting QB on the first team in school history to reach a bowl game, and he broke 24 (!) school records in only two years, helping his wide receiver Domenik Hixon reach the NFL as well. The MAC conference was talented back then too, boasting players like Greg Jennings, Julian Edelman and former Raiders starting QB Bruce Gradkowski.
In addition to this, over his two seasons, he played against a total of 23 defenders who went on to play in the NFL. Raiders fans should be very familiar with the MAC as Maxx Crosby (Eastern Michigan), Malcolm Koonce and Khalil Mack (Buffalo) and Antonio Brown (Central Michigan) all played in the conference. Rams head coach Sean McVay was also a receiver for rival Miami (OH) while Getsy was at Akron.
After his illustrious career in the Mid-American Conference, he signed as an undrafted free agent with the San Francisco 49ers. He was only on the team for training camp, and then he joined the coaching ranks. Getsy’s players can rest assured that because of the high level of football he played, he understands the game in a similar way that the players do.