NFL Coach Gregory Fishbeck Knapp has succumbed to the injuries he suffered in a recent accident around his home in Danville. Knapp was aged 58 years when a motor vehicle hit him there, and as per sources, he suffered serious injuries including brain trauma. Knapp was taken to Walnut Creek’s hospital John Muir Health after the accident. A hospital staff member confirmed his death on the morning of July 22, 2021.
Knapp’s coaching colleague and longtime friend Jim Mora said that he has had a deep emotional impact on others. Mora described Knapp as a man who was sincere and who laughed, lived large as well as loved his friends and family. Mora went to see him in the medical center, and she passed on the updates on his health to their friends. Knapp and Mora tutored the players of the San Francisco 49ers together under Stephen Ray Mariucci and Dennis Brian Erickson. Knapp worked as the offensive coordinator of the Atlanta Falcons and the Seattle Seahawks when Mora tutored these teams.
A native of Seal Beach who studied in Huntington Beach High School, Knapp worked as an assistant coach in the NFL for more than 25 seasons. He started his NFL coaching career with the San Francisco 49ers way back in the year 1995. In 2021, Knapp was hired as the pass game specialist of the New York Jets under Robert Saleh before he spent the offseason coaching new quarterback Zachary Kapono Wilson.
Whether it was with the San Francisco 49ers or the Oakland Raiders, Knapp focused on coaching quarterbacks in the National Football League. Knapp was the coach of quarterback Peyton Manning when the latter won the decisive Super Bowl match of the 2015 NFL season with the Denver Broncos.
Knapp also tutored the players of the Atlanta Falcons, the Seattle Seahawks, the Houston Texans, the Denver Broncos, and the New York Jets. In the 2000s, Knapp worked in the capacity of an offense coach of the San Francisco 49ers, the Atlanta Falcons, the Oakland Raiders, and the Seattle Seahawks. Then, Knapp came back to the National Football League in the same capacity for the Raiders in the 2012 season.
When he was away from the league in 2017, Knapp kept coaching the softball team of the San Ramon Valley High School that featured his daughter Natalie.
Knapp started his career as a football coach for Sacramento State in 1986 after he played for it as a quarterback. Knapp had first gone from the Huntington Beach institute to the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) before he sparked the Sacramento State Hornets football program.
In 2016, Knapp told Sacramento Bee staff that his career had gone quickly and that he had been fortunate. He also said to the newspaper staff that he had gained more with each move, and that his career had been a great ride.
During his stint as an assistant coach for Sacramento State, Knapp attended many National Football League training camps in the capacity of a player and coaching intern. Knapp left behind his spouse, Charlotte, and their three daughters, Natalie, Camille, and Jordan.
As for San Ramon Police Department Lieutenant Tami Williams, local officers reacted to the incident on the evening of July 17, 2021, a Saturday. As per Jeff Sperbeck, Knapp’s agent, the unidentified motorist moved into the bicycle lane at the time the coach was struck.
Knapp’s former NFL colleagues mourned his death, whereas many fondly recalled the man’s love for his friends and relatives as well as his laugh. Besides coaching his NFL team players, Knapp mentored other coaches.
