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Former Arkansas Razorback and Mountain Home High School Assistant Football Coach Ryan Mallett has died Tuesday in an apparent drowning while swimming at a Florida Beach according to the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office.
Mallett was 35.
“We are so saddened to hear about the tragic loss of former Bomber Football Coach Ryan Mallett,” said the Mountain Home Bomber Football Program in a Facebook statement. “Coach Mallett was a valuable member of our coaching staff and positively impacted the lives of many players and students. We are holding his family in our hearts right now in Bomber Nation.”
The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office said first responders were called to a beach in Destin, Florida where Mallett and others were swimming around 2 p.m. in the afternoon. Mallett and the group of swimmers were near a sandbar in the Gulf of Mexico and were reported to have been struggling to make it back to shore. The Sheriff’s Office reported that one individual, later to be identified as Mallet, was pulled from the water and found to be not breathing.
He was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
In life, Mallett enjoyed a long football career that saw him not only become a popular quarterback with the Arkansas Razorbacks but also saw him rise to the ranks of the NFL. His college career started at the University of Michigan, where he would play for one season before transferring to Arkansas.
As a Razorback, Mallett passed for 7,493 yards and 62 touchdowns in two seasons. In 2009, as a sophomore, he led the Razorbacks to a 8-5 record and a win in the Liberty Bowl. In that game, he earned Offensive MVP honors.
Mallett’s best season as a Razorback occurred in 2010, where he threw for 3,869 yards, 32 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He came in seventh place in voting for the coveted 2010 Heisman Trophy.
Following college, Mallett was drafted by the New England Patriots in the third round of the 2011 NFL draft. He was number 47 overall. Patriot Coach Bill Belichick selected Mallett to be one of Tom Brady’s back-up quarterbacks. He played 24 snaps for the Patriots.
In a statement on Tuesday, Belichick said he was, “extremely saddened by Ryan’s tragic passing. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and the many people whose lives he touched.”
Following his time with the Patriots, Mallett transferred to the Houston Texans ahead of the 2014 season. He played nine games, with six starts, over two seasons while with the team. He was released by the Texans in 2015, but was quickly picked up by the Baltimore Ravens.
With the Ravens, Mallett would play two starts and eight appearances through 2017. Overall, Mallett appeared in 21 NFL games and completed 190 of his 345 attempts for 1,835 yards. He scored nine touchdowns and had 10 interceptions.
After the NFL, Mallett joined Mountain Home High School as an assistant coach in 2020, where he would prove to be a great asset to the Bombers. In 2022, Mallett was hired as the head football coach at White Hall High School in Jefferson County, Arkansas.
