View source for Tom Clements

{{Short description|American gridiron football player and coach (born 1953)}}
{{about|an American football coach||Tom Clements (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| image         = Tom Clements in 2013.jpg
| caption       = Clements with the Green Bay Packers in 2013
| name          = Tom Clements
| birth_date    = {{Birth date and age|1953|6|18}}
| birth_place   = [[McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania]], U.S.
| death_date    =
| current_team  = 
| number        = 2
| high_school   = [[Bishop Canevin High School|Pittsburgh (PA) Bishop Canevin]]
| college       = [[Notre Dame Fighting Irish football|Notre Dame]]
| position      = [[Quarterback]]
| height_ft     = 6
| height_in     = 0
| weight_lbs    = 185
| undraftedyear = 1975
| pastteams     =
* [[Ottawa Rough Riders]] ({{CFL Year|1975}}–{{CFL Year|1978}})
* [[Saskatchewan Roughriders]] ({{CFL Year|1979}})
* [[Hamilton Tiger-Cats]] ({{CFL Year|1979}})
* [[Kansas City Chiefs]] ({{NFL Year|1980}})
* Hamilton Tiger-Cats ({{CFL Year|1981}}–{{CFL Year|1982}})
* [[Winnipeg Blue Bombers]] ({{CFL Year|1983}}–{{CFL Year|1987}})
| pastcoaching  =
* [[Notre Dame Fighting Irish football|Notre Dame]] (1992–1995) <br />Quarterbacks coach
* [[New Orleans Saints]] ({{NFL Year|1997}}–{{nfly|1999}}) <br />Quarterbacks coach 
* [[Kansas City Chiefs]] ({{nfly|2000}}) <br />Quarterbacks coach
* [[Pittsburgh Steelers]] ({{nfly|2001}}–{{nfly|2003}}) <br />Quarterbacks coach 
* [[Buffalo Bills]] ({{nfly|2004}}–{{nfly|2005}}) <br />Offensive coordinator 
* [[Green Bay Packers]] ({{nfly|2006}}–{{nfly|2011}}) <br />Quarterbacks coach 
* Green Bay Packers ({{nfly|2012}}–{{nfly|2014}}) <br />Offensive coordinator  
* Green Bay Packers ({{nfly|2015}}–{{nfly|2016}}) <br />Assistant head coach 
* [[Arizona Cardinals]] ({{nfly|2019}}–{{nfly|2020}}) <br />Pass game coordinator & quarterbacks coach 
* Green Bay Packers ({{nfly|2022}}–{{nfly|2024}}) <br />Quarterbacks coach
| highlights    = 
;As coach:
* [[Super Bowl champion]] ([[Super Bowl XLV|XLV]])
;As player:
* 2× [[Grey Cup]] champion ([[64th Grey Cup|1976]], [[72nd Grey Cup|1984]])
* 2× [[Grey Cup MVP]] (1976, 1984)
* [[CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award|CFL Most Outstanding Player]] (1987)
* 2× [[Jeff Russel Memorial Trophy]] (1981, 1987)
* [[List of Canadian Football League passing yardage leaders|CFL passing yardage leader]] (1979)
* 7× CFL All-Star ({{CFL Year|1975}}–{{CFL Year|1977}}, {{CFL Year|1979}}, {{CFL Year|1981}}, {{CFL Year|1984}}, {{CFL Year|1987}})
* [[CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie Award|CFL Most Outstanding Rookie]] (1975)
* [[Frank M. Gibson Trophy]] ({{CFL Year|1975}})
* [[College football national championships in NCAA Division I FBS|National champion]] ([[1973 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team|1973]])
* First-team [[College Football All-America Team|All-American]] ([[1974 College Football All-America Team|1974]])
| statleague    = CFL
| statlabel1    = [[Touchdown|TD]]–[[Interception|INT]]
| statvalue1    = 252–214
| statlabel2    = Passing yards
| statvalue2    = 39,041
| statlabel3    = Completion percentage
| statvalue3    = 60.3%
| CFHOF         = tom-clements
| pfrcoach      = ClemTo0 
}}

'''Thomas Albert Clements''' (born June 18, 1953) is an American former professional [[American football|football]] [[quarterback]] and [[coach (American football)|coach]]. He served as an assistant coach for the [[Arizona Cardinals]], [[Buffalo Bills]], [[Pittsburgh Steelers]], [[Kansas City Chiefs]], [[New Orleans Saints]], [[Green Bay Packers]], and the [[Notre Dame Fighting Irish football|University of Notre Dame]].

==Playing career==

===High school===
Clements attended [[Bishop Canevin High School|Canevin Catholic High School]] in [[Pittsburgh]], [[Pennsylvania]], and graduated in 1971.  Clements was a four-year letterman in both football and basketball.  He was also offered a basketball scholarship at North Carolina, but decided to play football instead.  He is the only athlete in Canevin history to have his jersey retired.{{Citation needed|date=October 2011}}

===College===
Clements was the starting quarterback for the [[Notre Dame Fighting Irish football|University of Notre Dame]] from [[1972 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team|1972]] through [[1974 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team|1974]] and led the team to a [[College football national championships in NCAA Division I FBS|national championship]] in&nbsp;[[1973 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team|1973]]. In&nbsp;the [[1973 Sugar Bowl|Sugar Bowl]] against [[1973 NCAA Division I football rankings|top-ranked]] [[1973 Alabama Crimson Tide football team|Alabama]] on December 31, [[1973 NCAA Division I football season#Bowl games|1973]], he had a 36-yard square-out completion to tight end Robin Weber on 3rd and 9 from his own end zone with two minutes left to secure a 24–23 victory. In&nbsp;[[1974 NCAA Division I football season|1974]], Clements was fourth in the [[1974 NCAA Division I football season#Heisman Trophy voting|voting]] for the [[Heisman Trophy]] and was a first-team [[1974 College Football All-America Team|All-American]].<ref name=career>{{cite web |url=http://www.packers.com/team/coaches/tom-clements/bb67e02f-a2b1-4543-83af-00f437249c9f |title=Green Bay Packers: Tom Clements |website=www.packers.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101013012914/http://www.packers.com/team/coaches/tom-clements/bb67e02f-a2b1-4543-83af-00f437249c9f |archive-date=2010-10-13}}</ref> In the [[1975 Orange Bowl|Orange Bowl]] on [[New Year's Day|New Year's]] night, Notre Dame again upset undefeated [[1974 Alabama Crimson Tide football team|Alabama]] to finish at 10–2 in [[Ara Parseghian]]'s final season as head coach.

===Professional===
After graduation, Clements began a career in the [[Canadian Football League]], quarterbacking the [[Ottawa Rough Riders]] for four seasons and winning the league's Rookie-of-the-Year award in his inaugural campaign. The next season, he helped to lead the team to what became the Rough Riders' last [[64th Grey Cup|Grey Cup victory]]. After taking a powerful hit, a woozy Clements threw a pass to tight end [[Tony Gabriel]] in the end zone, a catch which became famous in defeating the [[Saskatchewan Roughriders]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2008}}

During his time with Ottawa, Clements shared the passing duties with [[Condredge Holloway]], from 1975 to 1977 as the quarterback getting the most playing time. In 1978, their stats were comparable, except for Holloway throwing only two interceptions to 12 by Clements.{{Citation needed|date=September 2008}}

Clements continued his career with the [[Saskatchewan Roughriders]] in 1979, but did not fare well, throwing only two touchdowns to 11 interceptions and being replaced by Danny Sanders. However, a trade to the [[Hamilton Tiger-Cats]] quickly rejuvenated Clements, and he led the CFL in passing yards with 2,803, the last to do so with less than 3,000 yards.{{Citation needed|date=September 2008}} In 1980, Clements was briefly on the roster of the NFL's [[Kansas City Chiefs]], coached by former Montreal Alouettes head coach [[Marv Levy]], but was the third-string quarterback for a team that stressed the running game. In 1981, Clements returned to the Tiger-Cats and threw for 4,536 yards. He improved his numbers the next season with 4,706 yards. In 1983, Clements was traded from Hamilton to the [[Winnipeg Blue Bombers]] for long-time Blue Bomber quarterback [[Dieter Brock]]. The next year, those two teams, Hamilton and Winnipeg, faced each other in the [[Grey Cup]]. Clements led the Bombers to their first Grey Cup victory since 1962. In 1986, he set a new completion percentage record with 67.5, 173 out of 256. Clements finished his playing career with Winnipeg in 1987 and was also named the league's Most Outstanding Player.  He finished his CFL career with over 39,000 passing yards, 252 passing touchdowns, and a 60.35 completion percentage. In 2005, for the 75th anniversary of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Clements was selected one of the Bombers 20 all-time great players.  In addition, in November 2006, he was voted one of the CFL's [[TSN Top 50 CFL Players|Top 50 players]] (#47) of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network [[The Sports Network|TSN]].

Clements was inducted into the [[Canadian Football Hall of Fame]] in 1994.

==Coaching career==
In 1992, Clements was hired as quarterbacks coach for Notre Dame, where he served until 1995 under head coach [[Lou Holtz]].  After practicing law in 1996, Clements took his first [[NFL]] job, working as the quarterback coach for the [[New Orleans Saints]] from 1997 to 1999.  Clements would hold the same job in 2000 with the [[Kansas City Chiefs]], and between 2001 and 2003 with the [[Pittsburgh Steelers]]; under Clements's tutelage, the Chiefs' [[Elvis Grbac]] (in 2000) and the Steelers' [[Kordell Stewart]] (in 2001) and [[Tommy Maddox]] (in 2002) each reached the [[Pro Bowl]].

===Buffalo Bills===
In 2004 and 2005 Clements served as offensive coordinator for the [[Buffalo Bills]], but was released by the team after a front-office shakeup in which [[Marv Levy]], his coach with the Chiefs in 1980, assumed the position of [[general manager]] and ultimately installed [[Dick Jauron]] as the team's new head coach.

===Green Bay Packers (first stint)===
Upon the hiring of [[Mike McCarthy]] to be the head coach of the [[Green Bay Packers]] on January 11, 2006, the Packers parted ways with several assistant coaches, and McCarthy later interviewed [[NFL Europe]] head coach [[Steve Logan (football)|Steve Logan]] and Clements, settling on Clements on January 28, 2006.<ref name=career/>
During Clements' time as the quarterbacks coach with the Packers, he worked with starting quarterbacks [[Brett Favre]], [[Aaron Rodgers]], and [[Matt Flynn (American football)|Matt Flynn]]. In 2007, Favre statistically had one of his best seasons with the Packers, taking them to the NFC Championship game. Clements is also credited for assisting in the development of one of the game's elite quarterbacks in [[Aaron Rodgers]], as the first player in [[NFL]] history to throw for 4,000+ yards during his first two years as a starting quarterback in 2008 and 2009, and winning [[Super Bowl XLV]] and [[Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award]] in Rodgers' third year as a starting quarterback in 2010.  In Week 17 of the 2011 season, after the Packers went 14–1, McCarthy chose to deactivate Rodgers to keep him healthy for the playoffs and start backup quarterback, [[Matt Flynn (American football)|Matt Flynn]], on January 1, 2012, at [[Lambeau Field]] vs. the [[Detroit Lions]], Flynn's second start in his career.  Throughout the game, Clements worked with Flynn on the sidelines, showing him what to look for in the photos from the previous offensive series. Flynn had a record-setting performance, throwing for 480 yards and 6 touchdowns, both single game records for the Packers. On February 12, 2015, Clements role was elevated to assistant head coach with respective play-calling responsibilities.  On January 26, 2017, McCarthy announced Clements' contract had expired and he would move on to pursue other opportunities.<ref>{{cite web|last1=McCarthy|first1=Mike|title=Mike McCarthy announces one change to Packers' coaching staff|url=http://www.packers.com/news-and-events/article-daily-news-story/article-1/Mike-McCarthy-announces-one-change-to-Packers-coaching-staff/bf35134d-695e-4a33-8679-263cb92e4f1e|website=Green Bay Packers Website|access-date=January 26, 2017|archive-date=January 26, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170126191029/http://www.packers.com/news-and-events/article-daily-news-story/article-1/Mike-McCarthy-announces-one-change-to-Packers-coaching-staff/bf35134d-695e-4a33-8679-263cb92e4f1e|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Arizona Cardinals===
On January 22, 2019, Clements was hired as passing game coordinator/quarterbacks coach for the Arizona Cardinals on the staff of new head coach [[Kliff Kingsbury]] after being out of the NFL the past two years. Clements was hired as the primary offensive assistant because no offensive coordinator on the staff was added, with Kingsbury calling plays and doing other coordinator-type duties.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.apnews.com/c1a01ce6e253479a91c82e583b07055c|title = Cardinals hire veteran coach Clements as offense assistant|website = [[Associated Press]]|date = January 23, 2019}}</ref>

In January 2021, Clements announced his retirement from coaching.<ref>{{Cite tweet|number=1347193205859753985|user=dennisdoddcbs|title=Tom Clements has retired as pass game coordinator of the AZ Cardinals.|date=January 7, 2021|author=Dennis Dodd}}</ref>

===Green Bay Packers (second stint)===
On February 17, 2022, Clements came out of retirement and joined the Packers as the quarterbacks coach again, this time under head coach [[Matt LaFleur]].<ref>{{cite web |title=REPORT: Packers hire Tom Clements as quarterbacks coach |date=February 17, 2022 |url=https://www.wsaw.com/2022/02/17/report-packers-hire-tom-clements-quarterbacks-coach/ |publisher=wsaw.com |access-date=February 17, 2022}}</ref> He worked with Rodgers for one season until the latter was traded to the New York Jets in the 2023 offseason, although Clements stayed on to assist 2020 first round pick and new starter [[Jordan Love]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Packers QB coach Tom Clements came out of retirement for Aaron Rodgers, sticking around for Jordan Love |date=May 19, 2023 |url=https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/packers-qb-coach-tom-clements-came-out-of-retirement-for-aaron-rodgers-sticking-around-for-jordan-love/ |website=CBS Sports |access-date=May 5, 2024}}</ref> Love led the Packers back to the playoffs by throwing for 32 touchdowns and 4,159 passing yards in 17 starts.

On January 14, 2025, Clements again announced his retirement.<ref>{{cite web | last=Simmons | first=Myles | title=Packers QBs coach Tom Clements to retire | website=NBC Sports | date=2025-01-14 | url=https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/packers-qbs-coach-tom-clements-to-retire | access-date=2025-05-17}}</ref>

==Personal life==
While still in the CFL, Clements received his [[Juris Doctor]] degree [[magna cum laude]] from [[Notre Dame Law School]] in 1986. Upon the completion of his playing career, he practiced law in Chicago for five years at the law firm Bell, Boyd & Lloyd (now K&L Gates).

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Tom Clements}}
* [https://www.packers.com/team/coaches-roster/tom-clements Green Bay Packers bio]
* [http://www.justsportsstats.com/footballstatsindex.php?player_id=clemetom001&scoresort=13 Stats Crew profile]

{{Navboxes
| list = 
{{Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback navbox}}
{{Ottawa Rough Riders starting quarterback navbox}}
{{Saskatchewan Roughriders starting quarterback navbox}}
{{Hamilton Tiger-Cats starting quarterback navbox}}
{{Winnipeg Blue Bombers starting quarterback navbox}}
{{1973 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football navbox}}
{{64th Grey Cup}}
{{72nd Grey Cup}}
{{Super Bowl XLV}}
{{CFL MORs}}
{{CFL MOPs}}
{{CFL passing yardage leaders}}
{{CFL passing touchdowns leaders}}
{{CFL Most Outstanding Player East}}
{{Grey Cup Most Valuable Player}}
{{Canadian Football Hall of Fame members}}
}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clements, Tom}}
[[Category:1953 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American football quarterbacks]]
[[Category:Arizona Cardinals coaches]]
[[Category:Buffalo Bills coaches]]
[[Category:Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Canadian Football League Most Outstanding Player Award winners]]
[[Category:Canadian Football League Rookie of the Year Award winners]]
[[Category:Canadian football quarterbacks]]
[[Category:Green Bay Packers coaches]]
[[Category:Hamilton Tiger-Cats players]]
[[Category:Kansas City Chiefs coaches]]
[[Category:Kansas City Chiefs players]]
[[Category:NFL offensive coordinators]]
[[Category:New Orleans Saints coaches]]
[[Category:Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players]]
[[Category:Notre Dame Law School alumni]]
[[Category:Ottawa Rough Riders players]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Pittsburgh Steelers coaches]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Allegheny County, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Players of Canadian football from Pennsylvania]]
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[[Category:Coaches of American football from Pennsylvania]]