Looking back, Griese, then the 49ers QBs coach, said Darnold was professionally in a “bad frame of mind.” And his poor performance during his first five seasons made it clear to Griese that the No. 3 pick in the 2018 draft was overwhelmed on the field by doubt, which Griese, 50, a former NFL QB, believes can be a “death sentence” for a player at the position.

During their talks, however, Griese became a believer — convinced the Jets flameout could be resurrected based on seven words from one of their conversations. Griese viewed them as evidence the presumed bust wasn’t irrevocably broken.

“He said to me, and I’ll never forget this: ‘I kind of like who I am,’” Griese said. “I thought that was great. And I thought that was a pillar that we could build off with him. He went through so many difficult moments in his career, in those first five years, but he’d developed some emotional resilience.”

SNIP

Now 28, Darnold has often credited his one season as a backup with the 49ers — the year in which he easily played the least in his eight-year career — for having an outsized impact. Before the 49ers, he had a 21-34 record and his passer rating (78.2) ranked last among the 36 QBs who had thrown at least 1,000 passes since 2018. Since his one-start season in Santa Clara, he has a 28-6 record with Minnesota (2024) and Seattle, and his passer rating (100.9) ranks seventh among the 32 QBs with at least 400 attempts the past two seasons.