As a child, St. John’s Prep Football Coach Brian St. Pierre wanted to play in the NFL. It was all he thought about.
What the quarterback didn’t know, however, was how much he’d learn along the way. From St. John’s Prep – player and coach – to Boston College, and to the NFL, he was met with new challenges, and opportunities.
Salem-born St. Pierre broke records at The Prep: touchdowns, completion percentage, and games played, to name a few.
High school is where he learned “the ins and outs of playing quarterback” from a certain legend.
“My first quarterbacks coach was a guy named John Barbati, who was a hall of fame coach at Watertown in the ’70s and ’80s,” St. Pierre said. “He spent a lot of time with me and was really patient with me, but he pushed me hard. He was really the start of me getting coached as a quarterback, and as a leader.”
He also told St. Pierre, “You’ve got to be the toughest guy on the team.” Including hiding his pain from teammates, and opponents, St. Pierre took it all with him.
“I always prided myself on playing the position a certain way,” said St. Pierre, who enjoys quarterbacking despite players looking to “take your head off” every play. “You’ve got to have a certain amount of courage to hang in there and do the job. That always appealed to me.”
Next stop: Chestnut Hill.
If The Prep was about the ins and outs, Boston College was about learning the sport – and everything about it.
“When you get to that level, it’s so many more Xs and Os. It’s so many more things,” St. Pierre said. “I didn’t know anything coming out of high school in terms of passing [and] structures of defense.”
“Growing up, I ran an option in high school,” St. Pierre said. “So going to college, it was like ‘oh, crap.’”
Seasons, and summers, consisted of learning defensive attacks, how players line up, and so forth. From whiteboard sessions to being coached harder than ever before, it was worth it in the end.
“Just talking ball,” St. Pierre said. “It got me better.”
Then came the NFL, where St. Pierre suited up for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens, Arizona Cardinals, and Carolina Panthers across eight years.
“You get to Division 1 college football and everybody’s good. What separates you is you might have more physical ability than the other guys,” St. Pierre said. “At the NFL, it just does it at another level.”
Adding how players were performing for their families, and livelihoods, the NFL was more of a business according to St. Pierre.
“College was a business, too, but the NFL just amped it up that much more,” St. Pierre said. “A lot of the NFL is opportunity… I had to fight my butt off every year to make a roster and I was fortunate enough to do it for almost a decade, but it was hard.”
Other quarterbacks are always being drafted, too.
“My second year in Pittsburgh, they drafted Ben Roethlisberger who’s going to be a First Ballot Hall of Famer. [It’s] hard to find your way past that.” St. Pierre said. “Going to Arizona, Kurt Warner has a career revival and Matt Leinart is their number six pick… I was actually the backup on that 2008 team, beating Matt out in the preseason to be the backup, but it was always a fight for me.”
Remembering high school and college, St. Pierre put it all together in the NFL. He said completing the “day-in, day-out grind” helped his preparation and mentality.
“It wasn’t how you dream of it, but I still got to do it for a while at the highest level,” St. Pierre said. “I’m certainly grateful for the experience and, financially, it was great for my family, so I wouldn’t change it.”
And now, another title defense, as St. Pierre won his third Super Bowl with The Prep last winter. Adding he’s “always still learning,” St. Pierre is ready for more.
“I love the process of building a team every year,” St. Pierre said. “It’s a process, and I enjoy that part.”