Mike Teel.JPG

Former Rutgers quarterback Mike Teel is returning to the program as a graduate assistant.

( Patti Sapone/The Star- Ledger)

Dan Garrett wasn't surprised when he received the phone call last fall.

Mike Teel had been the quarterbacks coach at Kean University in 2011, but then got out of coaching for over a year to pursue a career with UBS financial services in New York City. The coaching itch returned last fall and Teel reached out to Garrett, the head coach at Kean, to see if he had an opening on his staff.

Garrett's response was, "One thousand percent yes."

Teel rejoined the Kean staff, logging 12-hour days for the $5,000 salary part-time coaches earn. But he was happy to be back coaching, and ultimately was put on the path to be hired this week as a graduate assistant at Rutgers, where he will work with the quarterbacks as first reported by mycentraljersey.com.

"If I had more to offer Mike, I would have never let Mike leave," Garrett said. "But obviously with his background and his network – if he knew coaching was it and that's what he wanted to do – the best thing for him was to explore the Division 1 opportunities. Obviously he's familiar with Rutgers, there's relationships established there, so you couldn't ask for a better fit."

A DESIRE TO BE GREAT

The most prolific quarterback in Rutgers history, Teel owns the school's career records for passing touchdowns and passing yards. The Oakland, N.J., native was picked by the Seahawks in the sixth round of the 2009 NFL Draft, but never appeared in a game during a brief career that included stops with the Patriots and Bears.

When Teel's playing career ended, he landed at Kean in 2011. The Division 3 school in Union, N.J., with little history of football success was a departure from Teel's background, but he arrived with no ego.

"(The players) absolutely loved him," Garrett said. "Instantly, he wasn't trying to force his name. He wasn't trying to force that he was the star at Rutgers, he wasn't trying to force that he was the guy that went to the NFL."

Garrett said Teel would arrive at 8 a.m. and spend his first two hours preparing for a meeting with the quarterbacks at 10 a.m. Then there was practice and extensive film work, with most days ending around 8 p.m.

"In the film room, he's meticulous," Garrett said. "He's rewinding the play over and over making sure the quarterback saw exactly what needed to be seen. It was, 'Listen, I'm your coach, this is what we're going over and we're going to cover A through Z. And if we have to come back through the alphabet again and do it all over we're going to because you need to understand how important it is.' He just wanted to be great, and the kids respected how much knowledge he possessed."

The attention to detail carried over to the practice field, where Teel's competitive drive and intolerance for laziness produced results.

"If you're not going full-speed as a wideout, he's going to let you know. If the line isn't running down the field after the ball is thrown, he's going to let them know," Garrett said. "He has passion and enthusiasm, but the competitiveness in him, he doesn't want to be average. He doesn't want anyone around him to be average. He wants to elevate everybody through his attention to detail."

A NEW LEVEL OF QB COACHING

Tom D'Ambrisi was a three-year starter at quarterback preparing for his senior season when Teel joined the Kean staff. D'Ambrisi said he learned so much that he felt like a freshman again under Teel.

"I remember the first question he asked me was, 'Have you ever been coached to play quarterback?' I'm sitting there thinking I had been a quarterback for 8-10 years at that point," D'Ambrisi said. "From that day on, I learned that I never was coached until I met Mike. He's a whole other level. When it came to breaking down film and reading defenses, it was unreal at how knowledgeable he was of the game."

D'Ambrisi had struggled as a junior and Kean finished with a 5-5 record. Under Teel's tutelage, D'Ambrisi and Kean underwent a transformation. D'Ambrisi went from nine touchdowns and 10 interceptions as a junior to 21 touchdowns and 12 interceptions as a senior. And Kean went 10-2, reaching the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.

"Mike was the reason why we had the success we had my senior year," D'Ambrisi said. "A huge part of that was Mike Teel. From being in that basement studying film with players all day to on the field and really just grinding it out."

BACK WHERE HE BELONGS

Teel left Kean after that season and was named quarterbacks coach at Division 1-AA Wagner College in February of 2012. But Teel lasted only a month before leaving coaching to pursue a financial career.

"He enjoyed coaching, he liked being around it, but when you're at the Division 3 level, not that it's less of a grind, but he wasn't reaping any financial rewards from us," Garrett said. "He was putting in those long days. It was seven days a week. You're talking about 12-hour days and if you do the math, it's not really per-hour anything worthy."

Mike Teel was a star QB at Rutgers from 2005-08

No one was surprised when Teel got back into coaching after a year away.

"I know he tried to get into the business world and I told him, '(Coaching is) where you belong," D'Ambrisi said. "I was the first quarterback he ever coached and I told him right off the bat, 'That's where you belong. You have a gift.' "

After Kean's season ended, Teel was prepared to join the UMass staff, but that fell through when head coach Charley Molnar was fired on Dec. 26. Teel had been looking into other opportunities for the last month when the position at Rutgers was offered.

"I think it came out of nowhere for him," Garrett said. "He texted me out nowhere and said, 'I'm with Rutgers.' I was happy as could be for him."

Life as a graduate assistant won't be much more glamorous than Teel's time at Kean. There will be long hours and low pay, but he's back home and he's on a coaching path that has the potential to be as successful as his playing career.

"I think he can take this opportunity that Coach Flood has provided for him and he can run with it," Garrett said. "He is as knowledgeable as a young coach as I've ever been around. He's a Division 1 football player, who has the NFL ties, now he's back home at Rutgers. That resume is going to be able to take him wherever he wants to go eventually as long as he does the great job I know he's capable of doing."