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{{Short description|American football player and coach (born 1977)}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name         = Tim Rattay
| image        =
| caption      = 
| current_team = LSU Tigers
| number       = 
| position     = Quarterbacks Coach 
| birth_date   = {{birth date and age|1977|3|15}}
| birth_place  = [[Elyria, Ohio]], U.S.
| height_ft    = 6
| height_in    = 0
| weight_lbs   = 200
| high_school  = [[Phoenix Christian Preparatory School|Phoenix Christian]] {{nowrap|([[Phoenix, Arizona]])}}
| college      = {{ubl|[[Scottsdale Community College|Scottsdale CC]] (1995)|[[Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football|Louisiana Tech]] (1996–1999)}}
| draftyear    = 2000
| draftround   = 7
| draftpick    = 212
| pastteams    =
* [[San Francisco 49ers]]  ({{NFL Year|2000}}–{{NFL Year|2005}})
* [[Tampa Bay Buccaneers]] ({{NFL Year|2005}}–{{NFL Year|2006}})
* [[Tennessee Titans]] ({{NFL Year|2007}})*
* [[Arizona Cardinals]]  ({{NFL Year|2007}})
* [[Las Vegas Locomotives]] ({{UFL Year|2009}}–{{UFL Year|2010}})
| pastcoaching =
* Las Vegas Locomotives (2011–2012)<br />Wide receivers coach
* [[Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football|Louisiana Tech]] (2013–2015)<br />Wide receivers coach
* Louisiana Tech (2016–2018)<br />Quarterbacks coach
* [[Washington Redskins]] ({{NFL Year|2019}})<br />Quarterbacks coach
* [[Oklahoma State Cowboys football|Oklahoma State]] (2020–2024)<br />Quarterbacks coach
* [[LSU Tigers Football|LSU]] (2025–present)<br>Offensive analyst
| highlights   =
* [[Louisiana Tech University Athletic Hall of Fame|Louisiana Tech Athletic Hall of Fame]] (2007)
* [[#College Football career|Holds several NCAA records]]
* 2× [[United Football League (2009)|UFL]] champion ([[2009 UFL Championship Game|2009]], [[2010 UFL Championship Game|2010]])
| statlabel1   = [[Touchdown|TD]]–[[Interception|INT]]
| statvalue1   = 31–23
| statlabel2   = [[Passing yards]]
| statvalue2   = 4,853
| statlabel3   = [[Passer rating]]
| statvalue3   = 81.9
| pfr          = RattTi00 
}}
'''Timothy F. Rattay''' ({{IPAc-en|r|ə|ˈ|t|eɪ}}; born March 15, 1977) is an American [[American football|football]] coach and former player who is the quarterbacks coach for the [[LSU Tigers football|LSU Tigers]]. Prior to becoming a coach, Rattay played as a quarterback in the [[National Football League]] (NFL) and [[United Football League (2009)|United Football League]] (UFL). He played [[college football]] for the [[Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football|Louisiana Tech Bulldogs]], and was selected by the [[San Francisco 49ers]] in the seventh round of the [[2000 NFL draft]].

Rattay was also a member of the [[Tampa Bay Buccaneers]], [[Tennessee Titans]], [[Arizona Cardinals]], and [[Las Vegas Locomotives]].

==Early life==
Rattay's high school career began at [[Mesa High School (Mesa, Arizona)|Mesa High School]] in [[Mesa, Arizona]]. He did not take snaps as a sophomore or junior at Mesa High before transferring to [[Phoenix Christian Preparatory School|Phoenix Christian]] when his father, Jim, became an assistant.

Because he was a backup, Rattay did not play until his senior year at Phoenix Christian, where he set a school record with 40 touchdown passes in 1994.

==College career==

===Scottsdale CC===
Rattay was not scouted by a major college, so he played a year at [[Scottsdale Community College]], where he beat out five quarterbacks ahead of him on the depth chart to earn the starting spot the week of the season opener. He led the nation's junior-college quarterbacks in touchdown passes (28) and yardage (3,526).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/99944 |title=RattayÂ's way never easy &#124; EastValleyTribune.com |access-date=June 10, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20070624104011/http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/99944 |archive-date=June 24, 2007 }}</ref>

===Louisiana Tech===
Tim Rattay then transferred to [[Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football|Louisiana Tech]], in [[Ruston, Louisiana|Ruston]]. There he set several NCAA records, finishing his career with the NCAA Division I-A records for average passing yards per game, 386.2, and total offensive yards, 12,643. He was in the top 10 voting for the [[Heisman Memorial Trophy|Heisman]] in 1998, which is awarded to the most outstanding college football player. In 1998, he broke school records as a senior with 4,943 yards and 46 touchdowns to finish with what was, at the time, third in NCAA history in single-season yardage.<ref name="ncaa">{{Cite web| title=Individual and Team Collegiate Records | url=http://web1.ncaa.org/web_files/stats/football_records/DI/2009/2009Collegiate.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091007170211/http://web1.ncaa.org:80/web_files/stats/football_records/DI/2009/2009Collegiate.pdf | archive-date=2009-10-07}}</ref> His 1998 season is, as of 2020, 19th all-time.<ref name="Sports Reference">{{Cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/leaders/pass-yds-player-season.html|title = Passing Yards Single Season Leaders and Records}}</ref> He finished his college career #2 all-time in passing TDs.

===College statistics===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Season
! rowspan="2"| GP
! colspan="7"| Passing 
|-
! Cmp !! Att !! Pct !! Yds !! TD !! Int !! Rtg
|-
! [[1997 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team|Louisiana Tech]]
| 11 || 293 || 477 || 61.4 || 3,881 || 34 || 10 || 149.1
|-
! [[1998 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team|Louisiana Tech]]
| 12 || 380 || 559 || 68.0 || 4,943 || 46 || 13 || 164.8
|-
! [[1999 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team|Louisiana Tech]]
| 10 || 342 || 516 || 66.3 || 3,922 || 35 || 12 || 147.9
|-
! Totals || 33 || 1,015 || 1,552 || 65.4 || 12,746 || 115 || 35 || 154.3
|}

==Professional career==
{{NFL predraft
|    height ft = 6
|    height in = 0 1/2
|       weight = 215
|         dash = 4.91
|    ten split = 1.67
| twenty split = 2.79
|      shuttle = 4.21
|   cone drill = 7.34
|     vertical = 25.5
|     broad ft = 8
|     broad in = 4
|        bench =
|     arm span = 31 1/2
|    hand span = 9
|    wonderlic = 27<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://bleacherreport.com/articles/19719-The-annual-Drama-that-is-the-NFL-Wonderlic-IQ-test--250408 |title=NFL Draft: The Annual Drama of the Wonderlic Test |website=bleacherreport.com |access-date=December 15, 2021}}</ref>
|         note = All values from [[NFL Combine]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://nflcombineresults.com/playerpage.php?i=4707 |title=Tim Rattay, Combine Results, QB - Louisiana Tech |website=nflcombineresults.com |access-date=December 15, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/R/RattTi00.htm#all_combine |title=Tim Rattay Stats |website=pro-football-reference.com |access-date=December 15, 2021}}</ref>
}}

===San Francisco 49ers===
Tim Rattay entered the league as the seventh-round pick (212th overall) of the [[San Francisco 49ers]] in the [[2000 NFL draft]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=2000 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2000/draft.htm |access-date=2023-03-19 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref> Rattay outperformed fellow rookie [[Giovanni Carmazzi]], who'd been taken in the third round (65th overall, 147 spots ahead of Rattay), to earn a roster spot as a backup to starting quarterback [[Jeff Garcia]]. Starting in place of an injured Garcia, Rattay won 2 of 3 games in [[2003 San Francisco 49ers season|2003]], throwing 7 touchdowns and just 2 interceptions, before getting injured. When Garcia was released from the team in March 2004, largely due to [[salary cap]] constraints,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/news/story?id=1748872 | title=Salary cap guides 49ers' decision | date=March 2, 2004 | website=ESPN | access-date=December 4, 2021}}</ref> Rattay was given the [[Starting lineup|starting]] job. From 2004 to 2005 he went 2–11 playing for the 49ers.

===Tampa Bay Buccaneers===
On October 18, 2005, Rattay was acquired by the [[Tampa Bay Buccaneers]] for a 6th-round [[2006 NFL draft]] pick from the San Francisco 49ers.

Late in the [[2006 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season|2006 season]], Rattay stepped in as the starting quarterback for the Buccaneers due to the poor play of [[Bruce Gradkowski]]. In the week 15 game against the [[2006 Chicago Bears season|Chicago Bears]], he entered the game with Tampa Bay losing 14–3. Due to his strong performance, Tampa Bay tied the game at 31, but they eventually lost in overtime 34–31. This performance led head coach [[Jon Gruden]] to name Rattay as the team's third different starting quarterback in the 2006 season.

===Tennessee Titans===
On May 9, 2007, Rattay signed as a [[free agent]] with the [[Tennessee Titans]]. The following month Gruden would name [[Jeff Garcia]] Rattay's successor as the Buccaneers' starting quarterback.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070626022144/http://www.nfl.com/teams/story/TB/10231042 NFL.com - Tampa Bay Buccaneers Team News<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Rattay signed with Tennessee to be a backup before 2007's training camp. He made the team's 53 man roster, but was cut the next day.

===Arizona Cardinals===
On October 9, 2007, Rattay signed a one-year contract with the [[Arizona Cardinals]] as a backup to [[Kurt Warner]], following a season-ending collarbone injury to starting quarterback [[Matt Leinart]]. Rattay would replace Warner in goal-line situations, where he went 3 for 3 with all 3 being touchdowns. Rattay declined to sign for another year, and decided to test the free agent market.

In September 2008, there were rumors that the New England Patriots considered signing Rattay after [[Tom Brady]] was lost for the entire 2008 season.<ref>{{cite web | last=Zinser | first=Lynn | title=Brady Done for the Season | website=The New York Times | date=2008-09-08 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/09/sports/football/09brady.html | access-date=2025-10-05}}</ref> In the 2000 NFL draft, the Patriots considered drafting Rattay but opted for Brady instead. 
The Patriots brought Rattay to Foxboro along with [[Chris Simms]], but once they arrived, they were told that, since [[Matt Cassel]]  had emerged, the situation had changed and Simms and Rattay were no longer needed in New England.

A month later, Rattay worked out with the [[Detroit Lions]], but they never made an offer to him.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.prideofdetroit.com/2008/10/22/640153/wednesday-notes-tim-rattay|title = Wednesday Notes: Tim Rattay Works Out for Lions|date = October 22, 2008}}</ref>

===Las Vegas Locomotives===
In July 2009, Rattay signed with the [[Las Vegas Locomotives]] of the [[United Football League (2009&ndash;)|United Football League]]. Head coach [[Jim Fassel]] said that Rattay would serve as the backup to [[J. P. Losman]]. On November 21, Rattay started for an injured Losman and led the Locomotives with two touchdown passes in a blowout win against the [[Hartford Colonials|New York Sentinels]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.lvrj.com/sports/52636402.html|title=Las Vegas News &#124; Breaking News & Headlines|date=February 19, 2024 }}</ref>

On July 12, 2010, Rattay announced his retirement from professional football.

==NFL career statistics==
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible"
! colspan="2"| Legend
|-
| '''Bold'''
| Career high
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Team
! colspan="3"| Games
! colspan="9"| Passing
! colspan="5"| Rushing
! colspan="2"| Sacks
|-
! {{abbr|GP|Games played}} !! {{abbr|GS|Games started}} !! {{abbr|Record|Record as a starter}} !! {{abbr|Cmp|Passes completed}} !! {{abbr|Att|Passes attempted}} !! {{abbr|Pct|Completion percentage}} !! {{abbr|Yds|Passing yards}} !! {{abbr|Y/A|Yards per passing attempt}} !! {{abbr|Lng|Longest pass completion}} !! {{abbr|TD|Passing touchdowns}} !! {{abbr|Int|Interceptions}} !! {{abbr|Rtg|Passer rating}} !! {{abbr|Att|Rushing attempts}} !! {{abbr|Yds|Rushing yards}} !! {{abbr|Avg|Yards per rushing attempt}} !! {{abbr|Lng|Longest rushing attempt}} !! {{abbr|TD|Rushing touchdowns}} !! {{abbr|Sck|Times sacked}} !! {{abbr|Yds|Yards lost due to sacks}}
|-
! [[2000 NFL season|2000]] !! [[2000 San Francisco 49ers season|SFO]]
| 1 || 0 || - || 1 || 1 || '''100.0''' || -4 || -4.0 || -4 || 0 || 0 || 79.2 || 2 || -1 || -0.5 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
! [[2001 NFL season|2001]] !! [[2001 San Francisco 49ers season|SFO]]
| 3 || 0 || - || 2 || 2 || '''100.0''' || 21 || '''10.5''' || 20 || 0 || 0 || '''110.4''' || 5 || -3 || -0.6 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
! [[2002 NFL season|2002]] !! [[2002 San Francisco 49ers season|SFO]]
| 4 || 0 || - || 26 || 43 || 60.5 || 232 || 5.4 || 27 || 2 || 0 || 90.5 || 5 || 0 || 0.0 || 5 || 0 || 5 || 26
|-
! [[2003 NFL season|2003]] !! [[2003 San Francisco 49ers season|SFO]]
| '''11''' || 3 || '''2-1''' || 73 || 118 || 61.9 || 856 || 7.3 || 61 || 7 || 2 || 96.6 || 3 || 8 || 0.0 || 6 || 0 || 7 || 54
|-
! [[2004 NFL season|2004]] !! [[2004 San Francisco 49ers season|SFO]]
| 9 || '''9''' || 1-8 || '''198''' || '''325''' || 60.9 || '''2,169''' || 6.7 || 65 || '''10''' || '''10''' || 78.1 || '''12''' || '''55''' || '''4.6''' || '''15''' || 0 || '''37''' || '''211'''
|-
! [[2005 NFL season|2005]] !! [[2005 San Francisco 49ers season|SFO]]
| 4 || 4 || 1-3 || 56 || 97 || 57.7 || 667 || 6.9 || '''89''' || 5 || 6 || 70.3 || 7 || 18 || 2.6 || 13 || 0 || 10 || 63
|-
! [[2006 NFL season|2006]] !! [[2006 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season|TAM]]
| 4 || 2 || 1-1 || 61 || 101 || 60.4 || 748 || 7.4 || 64 || 4 || 2 || 88.2 || 4 || 3 || 0.8 || 4 || 0 || 4 || 18
|-
! [[2007 NFL season|2007]] !! [[2007 Arizona Cardinals season|ARI]]
| 4 || 0 || - || 15 || 27 || 55.6 || 164 || 6.1 || 42 || 3 || 3 || 71.1 || 2 || 5 || 2.5 || 5 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
! colspan="2"| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/R/RattTi00.htm Career] !! 40 !! 18 !! 5-13 !! 432 !! 714 !! 60.5 !! 4,853 !! 6.8 !! 89 !! 31 !! 23 !! 81.9 !! 45 !! 77 !! 1.7 !! 15 !! 0 !! 63 !! 372
|}

===Career achievements===
* Rattay is one of only three 7th-round or [[undrafted]] quarterback since 1995 (out of a pool of 30 such players) to pass for more than 400 yards in a game.  [[Matt Cassel]] accomplished this twice in 2008, and [[Tony Romo]] in 2010.  
* Rattay broke the San Francisco 49ers team record for the most completions in a 31–28 win against the Arizona Cardinals on October 10, 2004, when he completed 38 passes, breaking [[Joe Montana]]'s record of 37.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200410100sfo.htm|title = Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers - October 10th, 2004| website=[[Pro-Football-Reference.com]] }}</ref>
* Rattay is the only quarterback in NFL history to throw three consecutive passes all going for touchdowns, as he did for the Arizona Cardinals in 2007. Each touchdown occurred in three non-consecutive games, and each pass was his only pass attempt of the game.<ref>[http://www.nfl.com/players/timrattay/profile?id=RAT659964 "Tim Rattay's 2007 stats"]</ref>
* Rattay was responsible for the biggest comeback in Buccaneers history on December 17, 2006, when he led the team back from a 21-point 3rd quarter deficit against the eventual NFC Champion [[Chicago Bears]], throwing for three touchdowns in the fourth quarter and sending the game into overtime before the Buccaneers lost, 34–31.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200612170chi.htm|title = Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Chicago Bears - December 17th, 2006| website=[[Pro-Football-Reference.com]] }}</ref>

==Coaching career==

===Las Vegas Locomotives===
Following his retirement, Rattay joined the Locomotives coaching staff as wide receivers coach on July 18, 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=4253090|title=Rattay Retires from Playing, Joins Locomotives on the Sideline|date=July 18, 2011|work=OurSports Central|access-date=July 18, 2011}}</ref>

===Louisiana Tech===
[[Skip Holtz]] hired Rattay to be the Louisiana Tech wide receivers coach prior to the 2013 football season. After three seasons in this role, Rattay became the quarterbacks coach for Louisiana Tech, a role in which he served from the 2016 - 2018 seasons.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://okstate.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/tim-rattay/2392 | title=Tim Rattay - Quarterbacks - Cowboy Football Coaches }}</ref>

===Washington Redskins===
On February 8, 2019, Rattay joined the [[Washington Redskins]] staff as a quarterbacks coach.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Camenker |first1=Jacob |title=Redskins hire Ken Zampese, offensive staff coming into focus |url=https://riggosrag.com/2020/01/08/redskins-hire-ken-zampese-offensive-staff-coming-into-focus/ |website=riggosrag.com|date=January 8, 2020 }}</ref>

===Oklahoma State Cowboys===
Rattay joined the [[Oklahoma State Cowboys football]] team as their quarterbacks coach on January 10, 2020.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bonner II |first1=Frank |title=OSU football: Cowboys hire Tim Rattay as the new quarterbacks coach |url=https://www.tulsaworld.com/sports/college/osu/osu-football-cowboys-hire-tim-rattay-as-the-new-quarterbacks/article_b5756463-9f45-5169-8f73-0e0c0a835973.html |website=tulsaworld.com |date=January 10, 2020 |access-date=10 January 2020}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography}}
*[[List of NFL Quarterbacks who have passed for 400 or more yards in a game]]
*[[List of NCAA Division I FBS quarterbacks with at least 10,000 career passing yards]]
*[[List of NCAA Division I FBS quarterbacks with at least 80 career passing touchdowns]]
*[[List of NCAA major college football yearly passing leaders]]
*[[List of NCAA major college football yearly total offense leaders]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20091011075542/http://www.ufl-football.com/players/profile/562 United Football League bio]

{{49ers2000DraftPicks}}
{{NCAA major college football passing yardage leaders}}
{{Louisiana Tech Bulldogs quarterback navbox}}
{{San Francisco 49ers starting quarterback navbox}}
{{Tampa Bay Buccaneers starting quarterback navbox}}
{{2009 Las Vegas Locomotives}}
{{2010 Las Vegas Locomotives}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rattay, Tim}}
[[Category:1977 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Elyria, Ohio]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Lorain County, Ohio]]
[[Category:American football quarterbacks]]
[[Category:Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football players]]
[[Category:Scottsdale Fighting Artichokes football players]]
[[Category:San Francisco 49ers players]]
[[Category:Tampa Bay Buccaneers players]]
[[Category:Tennessee Titans players]]
[[Category:Arizona Cardinals players]]
[[Category:Las Vegas Locomotives players]]
[[Category:Las Vegas Locomotives coaches]]
[[Category:Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football coaches]]
[[Category:Oklahoma State Cowboys football coaches]]
[[Category:Washington Redskins coaches]]
[[Category:Coaches of American football from Ohio]]