Background and career
Brian David Griese ( GREE-see; born March 18, 1975) is an American professional football coach and former player who was most recently the quarterbacks coach for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). A former quarterback in the NFL, he played college football for the Michigan Wolverines and was selected by the Denver Broncos in the third round of the 1998 NFL draft. Griese played three seasons at the University of Michigan, leading the Wolverines to win the 1997 national championship. After being selected in the third round by the Denver Broncos in the 1998 NFL draft, he earned a Super Bowl ring with the Broncos in his rookie season, as a backup to John Elway in Super Bowl XXXIII. Elway retired after the Super Bowl and Griese became the starting quarterback for the Broncos during the 1999 season. Griese was a Pro Bowl selection with the Broncos in 2000. After leaving the Broncos he started at quarterback for the Miami Dolphins (5 games in 2003), Chicago Bears (13 games in 2006 and 2007) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (21 games in 2004, 2005, 2008). He is the son of Hall of Fame quarterback Bob Griese. Griese is a former color commentator for Monday Night Football on ESPN.
Griese was born in Miami, Florida and attended Christopher Columbus High School in Miami, playing football, basketball and golf. Brian is the son of former NFL Quarterback Bob Griese, who spent his entire career with the Miami Dolphins.
Griese played college football at the University of Michigan from 1993 to 1997. Michigan did not offer him a scholarship, so he walked on to the football team. He turned down scholarship offers from Purdue (his father's alma mater) and Kentucky. After he was redshirted in 1993 and limited to placeholding duties in 1994, Griese took over as the starting quarterback after Scott Dreisbach was injured five games into the 1995 season. Griese started for the remainder of the 1995 season, capped by an upset of #2 ranked Ohio State, 31–23. At the beginning of the 1996 season, Dreisbach regained his starting job and Griese returned to the bench, serving as the team's pooch punter. However, after Dreisbach struggled, Griese replaced him at halftime against Ohio State, where he led the Wolverines to another upset victory over the Buckeyes, 13–9. Griese finished the season starting in a 17–14 loss to Alabama in the Outback Bowl. In 1997, Griese remained the starter. Along with Heisman Trophy winner Charles Woodson, he led the Wolverines to an undefeated season and a share of the national championship. Griese was selected as the MVP of the 1998 Rose Bowl, passing for 251 yards and three touchdowns in Michigan's win over Washington State. In his Michigan career, Griese had a 17–5 record as a starter. The Wolverines won all three games against Ohio State in which he quarterbacked. He was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame on December 30, 2012.
The Denver Broncos selected Griese 91st overall in the third round of the 1998 NFL draft. He began his career as a third-string back up to Bubby Brister and John Elway. He became a Super Bowl champion in 1998, though he spent most of the season on the sidelines. Following Elway's retirement in 1999, Griese became the Broncos' starting quarterback. Griese earned a 75.6 passer rating during his first season as starter, but improved the next year, raising it to 102.9. His efforts merited him an invite to the 2001 Pro Bowl. Griese consistently completed a high percentage of his passes. He has had four seasons with a better than 64% completion rate, including one year (2004) when he completed 69.3% of his passes. Nevertheless, he was unable to establish himself as one of the elite quarterbacks of the league, due to injuries and a penchant for interceptions. He was released by the Broncos, following the 2002 season, and was replaced by former Cardinals starter Jake Plummer.
In June 2003 he signed with the Miami Dolphins. His stint with the Dolphins, where his father Bob Griese played his entire 14-year career, was brief, being released in February 2004. Griese was given the starting job when the Dolphins starting quarterback Jay Fiedler got injured. Griese had an excellent start as a Dolphin, passing for 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions in a blowout victory against San Diego.
Griese signed with and performed well for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and provided a catalyst for the jumpstart of the Tampa offense. He was named the starter for the team in October 2004, benching Super Bowl champion Brad Johnson. He won his first game starting, against the New Orleans Saints in week five. On October 16, 2005 during a week six matchup against the Miami Dolphins, Griese suffered a season ending knee injury. Griese helped them to their only victories in 2004 with a 97.5 QB rating and to a 5–1 record in 2005 before succumbing to a torn ACL. Griese was cut by the Buccaneers in 2006 after the injury to his knee in order to free up money for the salary cap.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
