Giants Veteran Quarterback Announces Retirement; Eyeing Coaching Gig?

After nine seasons spread across eight different teams, New York Giants quarterback Alex Tanney is officially hanging up the cleats. The team announced the 33-year-old’s retirement from the NFL on Tuesday.

In 2020, Tanney was released during final roster cuts. However, in early-December, with Daniel Jones ailing from a lower-body injury, the Giants signed Tanney to their practice squad as insurance at the position. He remained on the team’s practice squad for the remainder of the season and was signed to a reserve/future contract in January.

Tanney’s decision to step away leaves New York with three in-house quarterbacks behind starter Daniel Jones; Colt McCoy, Clayton Thorson and Joe Webb. The latter two are on reserve/futures contracts, while McCoy is an impending free agent.

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Coach Tanney?

“Expect him to get into coaching,” ESPN’s Rannan tweeted in regards to Tanney. “It’s something he talked about in past coming from coaching family.”

Tanney currently helps run the Tanney Passing Academy (TPA), alongside his father Don, a Football Coaches Association (IHSFCA) Hall of Fame Coach and his brother Mitch, a former Director of Analytics for the Denver Broncos. Dubbed “The Premiere Quarterback and Wide Receiver Camp of the Midwest,” the TPA prides themselves on “helping mold the careers of junior high and high school players across Illinois and Iowa.”

Tanney’s coaching traits have already seeped through during his final season in New York working alongside a young Daniel Jones. This past offseason, a veteran NFL offensive assistant who was interested in a position with the Giants detailed to Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post just how vital Tanney was to Jones’ development.

“I was told, ‘If you end up there somehow, you have to keep Tanney around because of the job he does with Jones,’” the coach told Dunleavy. “Tanney did prep work for Jones. He spent all day with Jones.”

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Eli Manning’s Primary Backup; Tanney Carved Out a Nice NFL Career

An undrafted free agent out of Monmouth College (IL), Tanney latched on with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2012. He’s also spent stints with the Dallas Cowboys, Cleveland Browns, Tampa Bay Buccanneers, Buffalo Bills, Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans (twice) prior to his arrival in East Rutherford.

Tanney’s initial signing with the Giants came in 2018. At the time, he had just 14 career pass attempts under his belt. Despite Tanney’s limited on-field experience, he defied the odds, beating out not one, but two highly touted prospects (at the time) in Davis Webb and Kyle Lauletta to stake claim to a 53-man roster spot. Tanney spent the season serving as Eli Manning’s primary backup.

Tanney’s lone appearance with the Giants came the following season, during Manning’s final start of his illustrious NFL career. In Week 15 of the 2019 season, Tanney attempted the only pass of his Giants tenure, a one-yard completion to tight end Scott Simonson.

His only other NFL game action came with the Titans during Week 17 of the 2015 season. Tanney completed 10-of-14 passes for 99 yards against the Indianapolis Colts on the day, including his lone career touchdown, a five-yard pass to wideout Dorial Green-Beckham.

Over his NFL career, Tanney amassed 100 total yards on 11-of-15 passes for a 73.3% completion percentage to go along with his aforementioned touchdown.

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