Former BYU and NFL quarterback Gifford Nielsen discusses how many modern NFL offenses can trace their origins back to BYU

Former Houston Oilers quarterback Gifford Nielsen, who recently received emeritus status as a General Authority Seventy in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has embraced his newfound free time by focusing on family, golf, and sharing his insights on the evolution of football. From his home in St. George, Utah, Nielsen enjoys spending quality time with his children and grandchildren while occasionally appearing on podcasts, TV, and radio programs to discuss his career and the modern NFL.

At a golf event last fall at Sand Hollow, Nielsen reflected on how much the NFL has changed since his playing days in the late 1970s and early 1980s. As a former All-American quarterback at BYU and a College Football Hall of Fame inductee, Nielsen has a deep understanding of the game and its evolution. Having also worked as a TV sportscaster in Houston, he has maintained close connections with players, coaches, and media personalities, allowing him to stay plugged into the sport even decades after his retirement.

One of the most significant changes Nielsen noted is the increasing reliance on analytics, which has transformed the way teams approach situational football. “Today’s NFL is so much more complex than when I played,” Nielsen explained. “You see all these packages designed for specific situations, and the use of analytics—or what I call the ‘matrix’—has completely shifted the strategy. Teams are going for it on fourth-and-two at the 40-yard line instead of just kicking a field goal. Back in my day, we focused on getting points on the board. Watching these decisions now feels foreign to me.”

Nielsen believes this analytical approach isn’t limited to football; it’s impacting other professional sports like basketball and baseball, as well as collegiate athletics. “The game is more data-driven than ever before, and that’s been a major shift in how teams make decisions,” he said.

Another significant difference Nielsen highlighted is the impact of free agency and frequent player movement on team dynamics. “When I played, we had long-term relationships with our teammates. That continuity made a huge difference in how we executed plays and built trust,” he said. “Look at legendary defenses like the Steel Curtain in Pittsburgh. Those players—Jack Lambert, Mean Joe Greene, L.C. Greenwood, Ernie Holmes, and Dwight White—stayed together for years. The same goes for teams like the Dallas Cowboys during that era. Today, players move around so much that teams don’t have the same level of cohesion. It’s harder to build chemistry, and that takes time.”

Despite these changes, Nielsen sees an incredible legacy in modern NFL offenses that can be traced back to his time at BYU under legendary head coach LaVell Edwards and offensive coordinator Doug Scovil. “A lot of the concepts you see in today’s NFL were born at BYU in the mid-1970s,” Nielsen said. “The passing trees, route combinations, and play calls were things we developed back then. It’s amazing to see how much of what we did has influenced the modern game.”

Nielsen pointed to Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, a BYU alum, as a prime example of BYU’s lasting influence on the NFL. Reid’s innovative offensive strategies have shaped the league and extended through his extensive coaching tree, which includes successful head coaches like Sean McDermott (Buffalo Bills), John Harbaugh (Baltimore Ravens), Doug Pederson (Jacksonville Jaguars), and others.

When Nielsen watches NFL games today, he often feels a sense of familiarity. “I’ll watch a quarterback drop back, scan his progressions, and execute routes that look so similar to what we ran at BYU,” he said. “It’s remarkable to see how much of what we did back then still works in today’s game.”

Nielsen’s reflections offer a unique perspective on how football has evolved while highlighting the lasting impact of the innovative systems developed at BYU. From analytics-driven strategies to the enduring influence of BYU-style offenses, Nielsen’s insights bridge the gap between the NFL’s past and present, showing how foundational principles continue to shape the game’s future.