The NDA football program is blessed with a lot of NFL coaching experience this year, and the newest addition is Coach Ty Knott.  

Coach Knott spent ten years coaching in the NFL for the Jacksonville Jaguars, New Orleans Saints, Green Bay Packers and the San Francisco 49ers.  

Knott also coached two years in the AFL and one in the XFL.  

Knott is here at NDA because of his love for coaching and his friendship with Head Coach Mike Rader. 

He primarily coaches the quarterbacks and special teams but is a help all around because of his professional coaching experience.  

The NFL coach admitted he was surprised by how long the practices at NDA were, and even though his son played football at De Pere, he said,”I’d love to come back and coach here next year.”

From Knott’s multiple years of professional coaching he has had lots of opportunities to work with great NFL players.  The most memorable player he ever worked with was Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Jimmy Smith.  

Why was Smith so memorable? 

“He was a dominant player. It was my first year coaching, so he showed me what the league was all about,” said Knottt. 

Among his other unforgettable moments in the NFL was coaching during Hurricane Katrina while in New Orleans.  

He also mentioned coaching against a certain player, Sean Taylor. Knott said,”I wouldn’t say pretty good.  He was pretty special.”