The Hasselbeck brothers have been staples at ESPN for quite some time. But now, both will be leaving their media careers behind to embark on coaching at the high school level.
Matt Hasselbeck first started at ESPN after his NFL career concluded after the 2015-16 season, most prominent serving as an analyst on ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown pregame show. He was laid off by the company last June and has not pursued any other analyst roles elsewhere.
Meanwhile, his brother Tim Hasselbeck has been with ESPN since 2008, serving in a number of different roles throughout his time with the company helping out with NFL coverage. He announced back in December that he would be taking a high-school head coaching gig at The Ensworth School in Nashville.
It now turns out that Tim Hasselbeck will be bringing his brother along with him to help coach his high school team. Matt Hasselbeck will serve under Tim as the offensive coordinator, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
Former NFL quarterback Matt Hasselbeck is joining the coaching staff at Ensworth School in Nashville. He'll be the offensive coordinator working with his brother, Tim, who is the head coach.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) March 4, 2024
Tim Hasselbeck issued a statement on his hiring of his brother, calling it a “great day to be an Ensworth Tiger”.
“It’s a great day to be an Ensworth Tiger with the announcement that Matthew Hasselbeck will join our program to serve as our offensive coordinator,” Tim wrote in a news release via Tom Kreager of The Tennessean. “Matthew has extensive football experience and unmatched knowledge, and he will undoubtedly make a lifelong impact on the players and coaches he mentors.
“He will be an invaluable addition to the Ensworth community and football program. There is no one I’m closer to than with my brother. He wants to be a part of it.”
This won’t be the first time that Matt Hasselbeck has coached at the high school ranks. He previously served as the quarterbacks coach at Xaverian Brothers in Massachusetts, where he coached his son Henry. That experience should certainly translate quite well over to his new role under his brother.
We have also notably seen former players turned analysts transition quite well over to high school coaching in the past. The Hasselbeck brothers’ former ESPN colleague Trent Dilfer famously experienced a ton of success at Lipscomb Academy, another high school in Nashville, before ultimately leaving for the UAB head coaching job.
It obviously remains to be seen whether the Hasselbeck brothers plan on attempting to reach the collegiate coaching ranks like Dilfer did someday. But regardless, it should be interesting to track their success in their new roles.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.