Rick Mirer
Encyclopedia
Richard Franklin Mirer is a former American football
quarterback
in the National Football League
. After a successful collegiate career at the University of Notre Dame
, Mirer was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks
with the second pick in the 1993 NFL Draft
. Mirer was traded to the Chicago Bears
during the off-season in 1997. Mirer was most recently the backup QB for the Detroit Lions
in 2004
. In his career, Mirer also played for the New York Jets
, San Francisco 49ers
, and Oakland Raiders
. He now coaches football for Torrey Pines Pop Warner. He also owns and operates a winery in Napa Valley called Mirror Wine Company. Company website is MirrorWine.com. A percentage of the proceeds from wine sales benefit his Mirer Family Foundation which assists children in need in his hometown of Goshen, Indiana and various groups around San Diego, California where he resides now.
. At age eight, he competed in the National Punt, Pass and Kick Competition. His father, Ken, was head coach at Goshen High School
in Goshen, Indiana but retired before Mirer made the varsity team. Mirer posted 3973 yards and 30 touchdowns in his senior year, 2nd most in national prep history, and eclipsing Jeff George
's Indiana High School passing records. Earned Academy of Achievement Award as the top high school football player in the country in 1989, along with being the winner of the Atlanta Touchdown Club's Bobby Dodd Award as the nation's best high school quarterback.
leading Notre Dame past Florida in the 1992 Sugar Bowl
. He finished his career at Notre Dame by leading them to victory in the 1993 Cotton Bowl Classic. Mirer accounted for more points running and throwing (350) than any other player in Notre Dame history. He left Notre Dame 1st in career touchdowns with 41 and 2nd all time for total offense, completions, and passing yards. Invited to play in the East-West Shrine Bowl, and Hula Bowl
. Entering the 1993 Draft, he was hyped as the next Joe Montana
. In 2008, Mirer was inducted into the Indiana Football Hall of Fame
.
On February 18, 1997 Mirer was traded with a 4th round pick in the '97 draft to Chicago Bears
for a 1st round draft pick. He signed a three-year, $11.4 million contract with Bears, but played sparingly in the 1997 season.
Mirer was cut by the Bears in the beginning of the 1998 season, and signed with the Green Bay Packers
, who later traded him to the New York Jets
in 1999, where he replaced an injured Vinny Testaverde
as the Jets starter. After only winning 2 of his starts he was benched in favor of Ray Lucas
and was eventually released by the Jets at the end of the 1999 season, and was picked up by the San Francisco 49ers
as a backup to Jeff Garcia
. In 2002, Mirer became the 3rd string quarterback for the Oakland Raiders
, and became the starter for part of 2003 after injuries to both Rich Gannon
and Marques Tuiasosopo
. In 2004. Mirer was signed as the third string quarterback by the Detroit Lions
, but saw no playing time.
Mirer never played a down for Green Bay, which was led by Brett Favre
. On December 22, 2003, Mirer embraced Favre before a nationally-televised Monday Night Football
game. Favre's father had died the previous day. Favre would lead the Packers to a 41-7 victory.
Career single game highs Attempts-43; completions-25; yards-287; touchdowns-3
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. After a successful collegiate career at the University of Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
, Mirer was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
with the second pick in the 1993 NFL Draft
1993 NFL Draft
The 1993 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 25-26, 1993...
. Mirer was traded to the Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
during the off-season in 1997. Mirer was most recently the backup QB for the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
in 2004
2004 NFL season
The 2004 NFL season was the 85th regular season of the National Football League.With the New England Patriots as the defending league champions, regular season play was held from September 9, 2004 to January 2, 2005...
. In his career, Mirer also played for the New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
, and Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. He now coaches football for Torrey Pines Pop Warner. He also owns and operates a winery in Napa Valley called Mirror Wine Company. Company website is MirrorWine.com. A percentage of the proceeds from wine sales benefit his Mirer Family Foundation which assists children in need in his hometown of Goshen, Indiana and various groups around San Diego, California where he resides now.
Early years
Mirer was born in Goshen, IndianaGoshen, Indiana
Goshen is a city in and the county seat of Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. It is the smaller of the two principal cities of the Elkhart-Goshen Metropolitan Statistical Area, which in turn is part of the South Bend-Elkhart-Mishawaka Combined Statistical Area. It is located in the northern...
. At age eight, he competed in the National Punt, Pass and Kick Competition. His father, Ken, was head coach at Goshen High School
Goshen High School (Indiana)
Goshen High School is a public high school in Goshen, Indiana, in the United States. As of 2009, total enrollment is at 1,700 students. Goshen High School has a large hispanic population, at 52%, and a student to teacher ratio of 17/1. The school's athletic teams compete in Class 5A...
in Goshen, Indiana but retired before Mirer made the varsity team. Mirer posted 3973 yards and 30 touchdowns in his senior year, 2nd most in national prep history, and eclipsing Jeff George
Jeff George
Jeffrey Scott "Jeff" George is a former American football quarterback. He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts with the first overall pick of the 1990 NFL Draft...
's Indiana High School passing records. Earned Academy of Achievement Award as the top high school football player in the country in 1989, along with being the winner of the Atlanta Touchdown Club's Bobby Dodd Award as the nation's best high school quarterback.
College career
Mirer attended the University of Notre Dame from 1989-1992 accumulating a 29-7-1 record as starter including 3 bowl games. He began his tenure serving as backup to Tony Rice, then took the reins of the Notre Dame offense in 1990 and lead the team to the Orange Bowl. In 1991, Mirer set the single season touchdown record with 18 and was named co-MVP with teammate Jerome BettisJerome Bettis
Jerome Abram "The Bus" Bettis is a retired American football halfback who played for the NFL's Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams and Pittsburgh Steelers. Bettis is considered one of the best big backs ever because his footwork and power, and is currently fifth on the National Football League's all-time...
leading Notre Dame past Florida in the 1992 Sugar Bowl
Sugar Bowl
The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Sugar Bowl has been played annually since January 1, 1935, and celebrated its 75th anniversary on January 2, 2009...
. He finished his career at Notre Dame by leading them to victory in the 1993 Cotton Bowl Classic. Mirer accounted for more points running and throwing (350) than any other player in Notre Dame history. He left Notre Dame 1st in career touchdowns with 41 and 2nd all time for total offense, completions, and passing yards. Invited to play in the East-West Shrine Bowl, and Hula Bowl
Hula Bowl
The Hula Bowl was an independently administered post-season invitational college football game held each year in Hawaii from 1947 to 2008. The game was last played at Aloha Stadium in the Hālawa district of Honolulu, Hawaii. At one point the longest-running sporting event in Hawaii, it had been...
. Entering the 1993 Draft, he was hyped as the next Joe Montana
Joe Montana
Joseph Clifford "Joe" Montana, Jr. , nicknamed Joe Cool, Golden Joe, The Golden Great and Comeback Joe, is a retired American football player. Montana started his NFL career in 1979 with the San Francisco 49ers, where he played quarterback for the next 14 seasons...
. In 2008, Mirer was inducted into the Indiana Football Hall of Fame
Indiana Football Hall of Fame
The Indiana Football Hall of Fame is a sports museum and hall of fame in Richmond, Indiana. It honors persons associated with high school, college and professional American football in Indiana. It also works to establish scholarships and endowments to promote football in the state of Indiana...
.
Statistics
| Year | | Passing | | Rushing | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Att | Comp | Yds | TD | Int | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | ||
| 1989 | 30 | 15 | 456 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 32 | 2.6 | 0 | |
| 1990 | 200 | 110 | 1,824 | 8 | 6 | 98 | 198 | 2.0 | 6 | |
| 1991 | 234 | 132 | 2,117 | 18 | 10 | 75 | 306 | 4.0 | 9 | |
| 1992 | 234 | 120 | 1,876 | 15 | 6 | 68 | 158 | 2.3 | 2 | |
| Total |
698 |
377 |
5,997 |
41 |
23 | 253 | 694 | 2.7 | 17 | |
NFL career
Mirer was selected with the second overall pick in the 1993 draft by the Seattle Seahawks, where he signed a five year, $15 million contract. In his rookie year, he set NFL rookie records for attempts, completions & yards, and became only the 3rd rookie quarterback since 1970 to start all of his team's games. He finished his rookie season 5th in the AFC with 274 completions and 2833 yards. He was also runner up in the offensive rookie of the year voting, finishing behind his former backfield teammate from Notre Dame, Jerome Bettis.On February 18, 1997 Mirer was traded with a 4th round pick in the '97 draft to Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
for a 1st round draft pick. He signed a three-year, $11.4 million contract with Bears, but played sparingly in the 1997 season.
Mirer was cut by the Bears in the beginning of the 1998 season, and signed with the Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
, who later traded him to the New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
in 1999, where he replaced an injured Vinny Testaverde
Vinny Testaverde
Vincent Frank Testaverde is a former NFL quarterback. Testaverde last played for the Carolina Panthers and had previously played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets, Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots. Testaverde holds the NFL record for having...
as the Jets starter. After only winning 2 of his starts he was benched in favor of Ray Lucas
Ray Lucas
For the baseball player of the same name, see Ray Lucas Ray Lucas is a studio analyst for the show Jets Nation on New York City-based sports network SportsNet New York...
and was eventually released by the Jets at the end of the 1999 season, and was picked up by the San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
as a backup to Jeff Garcia
Jeff Garcia
Jeffrey Jason "Jeff" Garcia is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He played college football at San Jose State University....
. In 2002, Mirer became the 3rd string quarterback for the Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, and became the starter for part of 2003 after injuries to both Rich Gannon
Rich Gannon
Richard Joseph Gannon is a former football quarterback, who achieved most of his success late in his career with the Oakland Raiders in the National Football League...
and Marques Tuiasosopo
Marques Tuiasosopo
Marques Tavita Tuiasosopo is a former American football quarterback who is currently a strength coach for the University of Washington football team. He was drafted in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders...
. In 2004. Mirer was signed as the third string quarterback by the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
, but saw no playing time.
Mirer never played a down for Green Bay, which was led by Brett Favre
Brett Favre
Brett Lorenzo Favre is a former American football quarterback who spent the majority of his career with the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League . He was a 20-year veteran of the NFL, having played quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons , Green Bay Packers , New York Jets and Minnesota...
. On December 22, 2003, Mirer embraced Favre before a nationally-televised Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
game. Favre's father had died the previous day. Favre would lead the Packers to a 41-7 victory.
Statistics
24-44 record as regular season starter in twelve seasons in the NFLCareer single game highs Attempts-43; completions-25; yards-287; touchdowns-3
| Year | | Passing | | Rushing | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Att | Comp | Yds | TD | Int | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Team | ||
| 1993 | 486 | 274 | 2,833 | 12 | 17 | 68 | 343 | 5.0 | 3 | Seahawks | |
| 1994 | 381 | 195 | 2,151 | 11 | 7 | 34 | 153 | 4.5 | 0 | Seahawks | |
| 1995 | 391 | 209 | 2,564 | 13 | 20 | 43 | 193 | 4.5 | 1 | Seahawks | |
| 1996 | 265 | 136 | 1,546 | 5 | 12 | 33 | 191 | 5.8 | 2 | Seahawks | |
| 1997 | 103 | 53 | 420 | 0 | 6 | 20 | 78 | 3.9 | 1 | Bears | |
| 1998 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | Packers | |
| 1999 | 176 | 95 | 1,062 | 5 | 9 | 21 | 89 | 4.2 | 1 | Jets | |
| 2000 | 20 | 10 | 126 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 49ers | |
| 2001 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 49ers | |
| 2002 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | Raiders | |
| 2003 | 221 | 116 | 1,267 | 3 | 5 | 20 | 183 | 4.2 | 1 | Raiders | |
| 2004 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | Lions | |
| Total |
2,043 |
1,088 |
11,969 |
50 |
76 | 242 | 1,130 | 4.7 | 9 | 12 years | |