Tim Couch stays close to Kentucky, Cleveland in retirement
CLEVELAND (BVM) – Coming out of Kentucky in 1999, Tim Couch was seen as potentially the next great NFL quarterback. With the No. 1 overall pick in the 1999 NFL draft, the Cleveland Browns – an expansion franchise returning to their home city after the old team left for Baltimore years prior – selected Couch to become the face of their franchise.
While things didn’t exactly pan out the way many thought they would in Cleveland or throughout his NFL career, it has not stopped Couch from continuing to be involved in football and living a successful post-NFL life.
Couch’s early life
A Hyden, Kentucky native, Couch played at Leslie County High School where he had an incredible career, setting national records with 12,104 passing yards and 133 touchdown throws. As a senior in 1995, he was named Kentucky’s Mr. Football.
Perhaps just as impressive was Couch’s high school basketball career. He averaged 28.2 points per game as a sophomore, 36 as a junior and 25.5 as a senior, finishing his Leslie County career with 3,024 points. Between his basketball and football careers, Couch was eventually named the sixth best high school athlete ever by ESPN.
Couch’s Kentucky career
Couch committed to Kentucky, originally planning on continuing both his football and basketball careers. However, once there, he decided to solely focus on football, and it was a good decision.
After splitting time for a bad Kentucky team as a freshman, Couch became the full-time starter in 1997 under new head coach Hal Mumme and offensive coordinator Mike Leach. The quarterback thrived in the role, throwing for 3,884 yards and 37 touchdowns. The success carried into his junior year as well where he completed 400 passes for 4,275 yards and 36 touchdowns as he led the Wildcats to an Outback Bowl appearance.
Tim Couch- Kentucky
1998 Couch had one of the greatest seasons ever by an Sec QB.
400 passes for 4,275 yards which set a SEC record for passing yards in a season and 36 TD. Also, a completion of 83 percent of his passes NCAA record against Vanderbilt.@FQKentucky @timcouchtv pic.twitter.com/U1HqvbX3Y0
— FQ SEC (@FifthQuarterSEC) April 20, 2020
His passing yards as a senior were an SEC record until broken by LSU quarterback Joe Burrow over 20 years later.
He owned the record for 21 years
@timcouchtv’s message to @Joe_Burrow10 after breaking the @SEC single-season passing yard record! pic.twitter.com/V9DsdOs4bk
— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) December 1, 2019
Couch also left Kentucky holding NCAA records for completion percentage in a game (83%), most completions in a season (400), and career completion percentage (67.1%).
Tim Couch 🔥🔥🔥@TimCouchQB @UKFootball
— RobSoundsGood (@RobSoundsGood) December 17, 2021
After his junior season, the first team All-American, SEC Player of the Year and Heisman Trophy finalist decided it was time to test the NFL waters.
Couch’s NFL career
As most know, the NFL is unfortunately where Couch’s football success came to a halt. After being taken with the first pick in 1999 over the likes of other quarterback talents in Donovan McNabb and Akili Smith, Couch was seen as the potential savior for a new expansion franchise that was out to prove itself. It turned out to be anything but.
Couch took over for Ty Detmer as the Browns’ starter in just the second game of his rookie season. He threw for a respectable 2,447 yards and 15 touchdowns in his 14 starts, but was sacked a league-high 56 times behind a putrid offensive line. On the plus side, he did show some upside and gave Browns fans hope, particularly with a Hail-Mary winner to secure the Browns’ first victory back in Cleveland.
https://twitter.com/VintageBrowns/status/1501556974638583809
After just a 2-5 start to the 2000 season, Couch broke his thumb during practice, leading him to miss the final nine games of the year. He returned in 2001 to have his best season from a passing yards standpoint with 3,040. However, he threw 21 interceptions to just 17 touchdowns, and was again sacked 51 times.
The peak of Couch’s NFL career came in 2002 when he threw for 2,842 yards and 18 touchdowns, leading the Browns to a 9-7 record and a playoff appearance which would be their last until 2020. Missing the first three games of the season due to an ankle injury, Couch also did not get to finish the year off, suffering a broken leg in the Browns’ final regular-season game. It sparked a quarterback controversy going forward as backup Kelly Holcomb shined in an epic playoff battle against the Pittsburgh Steelers, a game the Browns lost 36-33 after blowing a 17-point lead.
The last time the Browns were in the playoffs?
The @Steelers had an EPIC 17-point comeback victory in the 2002 AFC Wild Card game. #FBF pic.twitter.com/9JuYhZORJC
— NFL Legacy (@NFLLegacy) September 7, 2018
Couch went on to appear in 10 games for the Browns in 2003, but continued to struggle, signaling the end of his time in Cleveland.
After being released in 2004, the quarterback attempted to continue his NFL career, signing with the Green Bay Packers, but didn’t make the roster out of training camp following a bad preseason.
Dealing with a rotator cuff injury, Couch sat out the remainder of 2004. He tried his hand again in 2005 with midseason workouts for the Chicago Bears and Cincinnati Bengals, but neither team gave him a contract.
Couch had additional workouts with the likes of the Titans, Dolphins, Steelers and Texans in 2006, but still remained unsigned, and ultimately underwent another shoulder surgery to miss the entire season. Finally getting a contract opportunity with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2007, Couch failed to make the team’s final roster, officially ending his NFL career.
Couch’s family, net worth and post-football life
After his playing career, Couch moved back to Lexington. In 2005, he married model Heather Kozar. The couple has two sons, Chase and Brady.
Since his NFL career, Couch revealed he suffered multiple concussions during his time playing, as well as some of the severe injuries previously mentioned including a broken thumb, broken foot, broken leg and shoulder injuries that required multiple surgeries.
While he may be labeled a draft bust, all the injuries he suffered certainly had an impact on his dramatic drop off in his pro career. Meanwhile, the Browns have continued the search for a franchise quarterback, having over 30 starters since Couch took over 20-plus years ago. That has included the likes of similar first-round picks like Brady Quinn, Brandon Weeden, Johnny Manziel and Baker Mayfield. All these guys were thought to be the next savior of the franchise like Couch, but all failed, most recently Mayfield who was recently traded to the Carolina Panthers as the Browns move forward with Deshaun Watson.
Couch knows all too well about these guys and the Browns’ struggles, as he has remained close with the organization in his retirement.
Congrats to @bakermayfield and the @Browns on a huge playoff win.. Happy for the city of Cleveland and Browns fans everywhere! Go Browns! pic.twitter.com/ZsGxXaAhyX
— Tim Couch (@TimCouchQB) January 11, 2021
In 2018, the 44-year-old returned to Cleveland to become a member of the Browns preseason broadcast team.
At the end of last season, Couch even humorously suggested returning to the playing field in Cleveland when the team was forced to start Nick Mullens in a late-season contest against the Las Vegas Raiders due to Covid issues.
I’m ready. Let’s do this. I can hand off to Chubb and throw sceeens all game haha
— Tim Couch (@TimCouchQB) December 16, 2021
Today, Couch continues to talk Browns football, as the team still searches for its next franchise quarterback, hoping that it will at some point be its new acquisition in Watson.
Meanwhile, the former Kentucky quarterback has also remained close with his alma mater. He has co-hosted the show “SEC Gridiron Live” on Fox Sports South and has also done work with the SEC Network. He continues to be a big Kentucky fan, keeping tabs on perhaps the best quarterback in Lexington since he was there, Will Levis.
In 2021, Couch was named to the ballot for the 2021 College Football Hall of Fame induction class. He was also inducted into the NFHS National High School Hall of Fame last summer.
Congratulations to Tim Couch on being inducted into the NFHS National High School Hall of Fame.
The Leslie County legend is presented his Hall of Fame medallion by KHSAA Commissioner Julian Tackett at the induction ceremony in Orlando, Fla. @TimCouchQB @NFHS_Org pic.twitter.com/8RAYM2HYDf
— KHSAA Main (@KHSAA) July 1, 2021
Also on the advisory council of Meridian Wealth Management run by his brother, Greg, Tim keeps busy in retirement playing golf, working out and spending time with family.
Over his playing days in the NFL, Couch made around $20 million. Currently, his net worth is estimated to be around $26 million.
Conclusion
A No. 1 overall pick in the NFL whose career only lasts a handful of years and is cut short by injury will always be considered a bust. While that is the unfortunate reality for the former Browns’ quarterback, he showed he had elite talent in high school and college, and may have succeeded in the NFL in a different environment.
Nonetheless, Tim can look back on his playing career and still be proud, and his continued involvement with his former teams and in the sport as a whole has continued what has been quite a football journey.