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Elvis M. Grbac (born August 13, 1970) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons, most notably with the Kansas City Chiefs. He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines, winning the Sammy Baugh Trophy in 1992. Grbac was selected in the eighth round of the 1993 NFL draft by the San Francisco 49ers, where he spent his first four seasons as a backup. Grbac played his next four seasons as the Chiefs' starter.
With the Chiefs, Grbac would help lead the team to two playoff berths and one division title, along with earning Pro Bowl honors in 2000. His tenure would also be known for a quarterback controversy with Rich Gannon during the 1997 season, which drew retrospective criticism due to Gannon having greater success on the rival Oakland Raiders. Grbac played his final season for the Baltimore Ravens. After retiring, he became the athletic director at Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School, the high school he attended.
Grbac attended St. Joseph High School, where he played basketball and football. One of his high-school teammates was future Heisman Trophy winner Desmond Howard.
Grbac also established the Big Ten Conference career passing efficiency record that would stand for six seasons until it was surpassed by Joe Germaine. Grbac was a two-time National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) passing efficiency champion during his last two seasons. He was a three-time Big Ten champion in this statistic.
In the 1997 season, Grbac played for the Chiefs during the season they won their fourth AFC West championship. The team finished the year with six consecutive victories, a first in team history, but with Rich Gannon at QB. The 1997 season was also the beginning of a quarterback controversy, when Grbac started the first nine games and suffered an injury, leading to Rich Gannon's substitution for the next six games. Grbac would return in the team's season finale. Gannon won five consecutive starts down the stretch to help the Chiefs earn home-field advantage with a 13–3 record. Grbac was a talented thrower, while Gannon was an aggressive leader who demanded the most of his players. Grbac was selected by coach Marty Schottenheimer to start the team's playoff game against the Denver Broncos, which the Chiefs would lose 14–10 amid an ineffective performance from Grbac. Chiefs fans were divided over whether Gannon or Grbac should lead the team. Eventually, Grbac was selected to remain the Chiefs starting quarterback; Gannon was released and signed with the Raiders in 1999. In 1998, the Chiefs struggled in the highly competitive AFC West. Grbac completed only 98-of-188 attempts, for five touchdowns, and gained 1,142 yards in this season. For 1999, the Chiefs won 2nd place in the AFC West. Grbac had a 9–7 record, starting all 16 games. In the final game of the season against the Oakland Raiders, the Chiefs were denied a trip to the playoffs and an AFC West division title when Raiders kicker Joe Nedney kicked a game-winning field-goal in overtime. In 2000, Grbac passed for 4,169 yards and 28 touchdowns with a passer rating of 89.9 en route to the 2001 Pro Bowl.
Grbac finished his four seasons in Kansas City by passing for 10,643 yards, 66 touchdowns, and 47 interceptions with a regular season record of 26–21 and a postseason record of 0–2. Despite some success, Grbac became unpopular among Chiefs fans because the team's decision to start him over Gannon, who would be named MVP with the Raiders in 2002 and led them to Super Bowl XXXVII.
On the June 13, 2023, edition of The Program with Soren Petro radio show, former Chiefs offensive lineman Tim Grunhard revealed that Grbac threw a Christmas party for his teammates in 2000 that was only attended by approximately 10 players, which upset Grbac. Grunhard said he addressed the team about the lack of support the next week and surmised the party was not well attended because a significant portion of the Chiefs' roster did not particularly like Grbac due to his serious personality and lack of bonding with colleagues.
Although the Ravens recorded a 10–6 regular season record and qualified for the playoffs, Grbac's performance was considered a disappointment. He performed statistically below Dilfer's performance in the previous season and two of the Ravens' wins occurred when Randall Cunningham started as a quarterback. During the postseason, the Ravens defeated the Miami Dolphins in the Wild Card Round 20–3 but were later defeated 27–10 by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the divisional round; Grbac threw three interceptions and no touchdowns in the loss.
At the end of the season, the Ravens released Grbac in a salary cap move after he refused to renegotiate his contract. At the time of his retirement, Grbac had been in negotiations with the Denver Broncos as a backup to Brian Griese, but Grbac opted for retirement. Baltimore's free agent signing of Grbac is considered among the league's worst due to his inefficient performance and lasting only one season with the team.
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