Chadwick "Chad" Pennington, born on June 26, 1976, is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. He is now making a significant impact as a high school football coach.
Three years ago, Chad Pennington officially traded in his helmet for a headset, and it's a decision he is glad he made. The former Marshall great and NFL player is in his third year as head coach of the Sayre Spartans out of Lexington - and best of all - he is coaching two of his three sons - Cole and Luke.
"It's fun to be involved," Pennington said. "My dad used to say, 'The greatest gift you can give to your children is yourself.' I love being with Cole and Luke and watching Gage play. Robin and I are blessed. We're a football family. We love being part of their lives."
Early Life and College Career
Pennington is a native of Tennessee. His father, Elwood, was a physical education teacher and football coach at Halls High School, and his mother, Denise, a teacher at the Webb School of Knoxville, both in Knoxville. Both of Pennington's parents are of English descent. Pennington's first sport was basketball, which he began playing in the third grade. He began playing football in his freshman year in high school. His parents decided to have him repeat the eighth grade when he was enrolled at the Webb School of Knoxville due to the school's intense academic program.
Pennington played college football for the Marshall Thundering Herd, winning the Sammy Baugh Trophy as a senior. Originally the Thundering Herd's fourth-string quarterback in 1995 and slated to be redshirted, Pennington led Marshall to the 1995 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game, which Marshall lost to Montana, 22-20.
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The following year, Pennington was redshirted in favor of Eric Kresser, a transfer from the Florida Gators, who guided the Herd's return to the I-AA Championship game (a victory) in 1996. Pennington returned to play in 1997 as Marshall moved from Division I-AA to Division I-A. He led Marshall to the school's first bowl game victory in a 48-29 rout of Louisville in the 1998 Motor City Bowl. Pennington was named the game's MVP.
In his senior year (1999), Marshall went undefeated at 13-0 as Pennington led the team to its third consecutive Mid-American Conference championship. Pennington set school records in several passing categories. He finished fifth in 1999 Heisman Trophy voting. Randy Moss was Pennington's top receiver at Marshall. In addition to his success on the football field, Pennington excelled academically, graduating with a degree in journalism, a 3.83 grade point average and becoming a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship.
Includes statistics from 1995 when Marshall competed in Division I-AA.
NFL Career
Pennington was selected by the New York Jets in the first round of the 2000 NFL draft.
After making only three appearances during his first two seasons, Pennington emerged as the Jets' starting quarterback after filling in for Vinny Testaverde during the fifth game of the 2002 season. Pennington helped reverse the Jets' fortunes by leading the 1-4 team to an eventual 9-7 record and an AFC East division championship. Despite starting less than a full season, Pennington threw for 3,120 yards with 22 touchdowns and six interceptions. His 104.2 quarterback rating set a team record.
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After their 2002 performance, Pennington and the Jets were given lofty expectations entering the 2003 pre-season; however, in the fourth pre-season game against the New York Giants, Pennington endured a fracture-dislocation on his left (non-throwing) hand after suffering a hit from linebacker Brandon Short. The injury forced him to miss the first six games of the season. Due to the severity of the injury, and a rushed rehab process, Pennington's wrist would never be the same, and his once outstanding play-fake became thoroughly ordinary. Without their starting quarterback, the Jets began the season 1-4.
Into the 2004 season, the Jets signed Pennington to a team-record contract for seven years and $64.2 million and Pennington led the Jets to a 5-0 record. However, during a Week 9 game against the Buffalo Bills, Pennington injured his rotator cuff and subsequently missed three games. Second string quarterback Quincy Carter was 2-1 in Pennington's absence. After returning to action with a rout of the Houston Texans. Despite a scuffle with the New York media and losses to the New England Patriots and the St. Louis Rams, the Jets earned a wild card berth with a 10-6 record. Pennington then led the Jets to a first-round, 20-17 overtime win against the AFC West Champion San Diego Chargers, as he went 23-33, for 279 yards and two touchdowns. Pennington and the Jets then faced the 15-1 Steelers at Pittsburgh. Despite the Jets' offensive struggles and facing a 10-0 deficit, the Jets defense and special teams rallied to score 17 unanswered points. However, Pennington and the Jets would see their season end with kicker Doug Brien missing two potential game-winning field goals.
Pennington underwent surgery on his right shoulder in Birmingham, Alabama on February 4, 2005. It was later revealed that he had suffered a substantial tear in the right rotator cuff, as well as a large bone spur on that shoulder.
Pennington and the Jets expected that with more rehabilitation time than his first surgery, he would have better strength and control with his throws entering the 2006 season. Entering the 2006 season, Pennington trained with new throwing coaches, and worked significantly on the strength of his torso and throwing mechanics. Pennington won the Jets pre-season quarterback competition, and started the 2006 season in pre-injury form. In the first two weeks of the season, and for the first time in his career, Pennington posted back-to-back 300-yard passing games. Pennington's Week One performance against the Tennessee Titans earned him AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors. Although his lack of arm strength was often criticized, Pennington's abilities fit well with the new offense instituted by offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer. The Jets took on the New England Patriots in their lone playoff game. The Jets lost 37-16, with Pennington passing for 300 yards and a touchdown. For his stellar season, Pennington was awarded the Comeback Player of the Year Award, just one year after tearing his rotator cuff.
In 2008, upon entering training camp, Eric Mangini announced a competition for the starting quarterback position between Pennington and Clemens. On August 8, Pennington signed a two-year, $11.5 million deal with the Dolphins. Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano said that Pennington would have to compete for the starting job. He was later announced as the starting quarterback as the Dolphins moved into the regular season. His 67.4 completion percentage led the NFL and broke Miami's single-season record of 64.2 set by Dan Marino in 1984. He finished the season with a passer rating of 97.4, started all sixteen games for the Dolphins, and led them to an 11-5 record (including winning 9 of their last 10 games) and the third seed in the playoffs with an AFC East Championship. The Dolphins went on to lose to the Baltimore Ravens in the first round of the playoffs, 27-9. He was the first Dolphins quarterback since Hall of Famer Dan Marino to throw for 3,500 yards. For his role in the Dolphins' ten-win turnaround, Pennington received notable MVP consideration from several major media outlets. He received four votes, and finished tied for second with running back Michael Turner for the 2008 AP NFL MVP.
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Pennington was also the first player to win NFL Comeback Player of the Year multiple times, receiving the award in 2006 and 2008.
Transition to Coaching
With his playing career done, and he and his wife, Robin, looking for a place to live, they settled on Central Kentucky just outside Lexington. “I’m from Knoxville. My wife is from West Virginia. We both went to Marshall,” Pennington said. “It was a middle ground for us to be closer to family.”
Family is what led Pennington into coaching as well. His father, Elwood, was a longtime coach in the Knoxville area, finishing his career at Pennington’s Webb School. When Chad’s three sons, Cole, Luke and Gage, became old enough, Pennington became their middle school coach at The Lexington School. “I promised myself when I retired that I wanted to be present in the lives of my kids and my family,” Pennington said. “My dad and mom were present because they were educators and coaches. I saw my dad have a great impact on the players that he interacted with. So I’ve always had a passion for this level, both middle school and high school, because I see myself in my players.”
Pennington coached his sons at The Lexington School, one of the small Lexington private schools that sends its students on to Sayre or wherever they choose. As Pennington’s oldest, Cole, reached high school age, the family had a decision to make. When Sayre began entertaining the idea of reviving its football program, that decision became clear.
Cole is a junior and the starting gunslinger for the Spartans. He is beginning to see college offers roll in, and yes, Marshall has already extended an invitation. Cole hasn't made an official decision as of yet, but dad is proud of his son's growth on and off the field. "I'm proud of Cole for his work ethic. He took advantage of the quarantine and put in the time. I'm also proud of his leadership He's grown into an encouraging and positive leader," Pennington said.
And as for those two, it might be a father-son relationship at home, but there is no questions it's player-coach when they are on the gridiron. "When we're on the field, I'm coach. When we're off the field, I'm his dad. Other players realize I'm coach not dad.
Cole, now a redshirt sophomore at Marshall, and Luke, the Spartans’ senior quarterback, also played basketball. The youngest, Gage, a sophomore, plays football and lacrosse.
Building a Program at Sayre
When Chad Pennington took up the reins of Sayre’s revival of varsity high school football in 2018, the small Lexington private school was more known for its high academic standards than its athletics prowess.
Sayre boasts that 100 percent of its seniors get accepted to four-year colleges and 85 percent earn some type of merit scholarship. The school enrolled 239 students in the 2023-24 school year, according to KHSAA records. But Sayre has had success in athletics, too, and encourages all of its students to participate in some kind of extracurricular activity. With football restored after a 40-year hiatus, 70 percent choose sports, according to the school. The Spartans’ baseball team won the statewide All “A” Classic and 11th Region titles in 2023. Its golf team had an individual region champion in 2022. Its girls lacrosse team won league titles in 2022 and 2024.
In 2018, the Sayre Athletic Complex just south of the interstate off Athens-Boonesboro Road, held little more than baseball, tennis and soccer. Adjacent soccer fields were rented to local club teams. There were no goal posts, no gridiron and no grandstand to speak of. Soccer fans often brought their collapsible outdoor chairs and set them up 5 yards off the sidelines to watch games. The “press box” on the far side of the field looked more like something set up for a youth league baseball or softball game than anything else - it’s a two-story outbuilding now used by the opposing team’s coaches.
Fast forward to 2024 and The SAC has a new scoreboard, a dedicated football practice field, a large building that houses the weight room, play clocks outside each end zone and a grandstand topped by a good-sized press box. The Spartans take the field through a giant inflatable Spartan helmet. The Sayre community’s commitment to football could not be made clearer.
Sayre’s roster has grown from 24 players in 2019 in its first full varsity season when it went 1-9 to 49 today with two consecutive undefeated regular seasons and district titles, a region title and a state title on deck. That’s a huge leap in a short time for a team that used to run plays on the school’s defunct softball field.
“When I look back upon all of the improvements and all of the changes from 2018 until now, I’m quickly reminded that your work ethic can never change,” Pennington said. “Your approach can never change. Your core values can never change, regardless if you have the greatest of facilities or the most minor of facilities.”
Opportunities to win trophies come from focusing on the true mission of any high school football program., Pennington said. “We have certainly improved over time with facilities and bells and whistles, but more importantly, we stay true to who we are as a program,” Pennington said. “And that’s the focus being on developing young men and using the game of football to do that, not only for football, but for the next chapter of their lives. That’s what I’m most proud of.”
Former NFL quarterback Chad Pennington has built the Sayre football program from the ground up.
And at noon on Friday at Kroger Field, Sayre Spartans football, a program that’s only played five complete varsity seasons under Pennington, will battle Raceland for the Class A state championship. Though hampered by injuries, his 11-year pro career included four playoff appearances and two NFL Comeback Player of the Year awards as a Jet and later a Miami Dolphin.
Taking on Raceland, Sayre counters with Class A’s top offense and defense. Three seniors spearhead the Spartans attack - quarterback Luke Pennington, a Dayton commit, who has thrown 50 TD passes; Charlie Slabaugh, a Columbia baseball commit who leads the team in rushing and tackles; and Brock Coffman, a wideout/defensive back who signed with Louisville on Wednesday and has 1,387 yards and 24 TDs receiving.
Raceland defeated Sayre 42-27 in last season’s state semifinals on the Spartans’ home field. Pennington expects the Rams to be just as tough at Kroger Field on Friday.
“We know what type of game it’s going to be. It’s going to be a physical game, a downhill game. We understand that,” Pennington said. “Our job is to do the best we can to be who we are and see if we can put ourselves in position in the fourth quarter to win the football game.”
On December 6, 2024, Coffman's 3 TDs lead Sayre past Raceland 27-22 in Class A championship for school's 1st state title. Sayre football wins first state championship, finishing undefeated season.
NFL Statistics
| Year | Team | Games Played | Completions | Passing Yards | Touchdowns | Interceptions | Passer Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | New York Jets | 12 | 242 | 3,120 | 22 | 6 | 104.2 |
| 2008 | Miami Dolphins | 16 | 320 | 3,653 | 19 | 7 | 97.4 |
Former Jets Quarterback Chad Pennington Brings Back Sayre School’s Football Program | NFL Films
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