The football world is mourning the loss of former NFL quarterback Ryan Mallett, who tragically drowned at a beach in Destin, Florida on Tuesday.
In a Facebook post, the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office stated that there was a group of swimmers who struggled to make it back to shore. Lifeguards on the beach saw Mallett go underneath, and they stated that he wasn’t breathing after being pulled out. The 35-year-old was rushed to a local hospital, but he was pronounced dead upon arrival.
There had been warnings of rip currents around before Mallett drowned, but officials later stated that there weren’t any in the area where he drowned.
Last year, Mallett was named the head coach of the White Hall High School football team in White Hall, Arkansas. Before being promoted to head coach, Mallett was employed as an assistant coach for Mountain Home High School in Mountain Home, Arkansas.
Casey Dick, another former Arkansas quarterback who was teammates with quarterback, told Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports that Mallett had “found his niche” in coaching high school football in an emotional interview:
“He always wanted to make an impact in people’s lives. That was Ryan. That’s how he was as a teammate. He cared about everybody on the team. And that’s why he always wanted to be a coach at some point…
He’d found his niche. It was just all about the kids, coaching kids, helping kids and making an impact with them. Sometimes your niche finds you and with Ryan it definitely found him…It made him happy. It was great to see him like that. It’s all just shocking.”
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Mallett was drafted in the third round (74th overall) by the New England Patriots in 2011. He was eventually traded to the Houston Texans, making six starts and appearing in nine games over his two years there.
Late in the 2015 season, Mallett joined the Baltimore Ravens after the team lost starter Joe Flacco for the year to injury. Mallett was a member of the Ravens’ roster for three years, making two starts and appearing in eight games altogether.
