Tom Arth enters his second season as passing game specialist for the Chargers in 2023. He brought nine years of collegiate head coaching acumen and three seasons of NFL playing experience to the offensive staff. Arth re-joined forces with Head Coach Brandon Staley, who spent three seasons as Arth's defensive coordinator at John Carroll University (2013, '15-16) before entering the NFL coaching ranks in 2017.
In his first season with the Bolts, Arth was part of a staff that coached the offense to rank third in passing offense (269.6 net passing yards per game) and No. 9 in total offense (359.3 total net yards per game) in the NFL in 2022. He helped quarterback Justin Herbert continue to set records, as no player has more completions (1,316), passing yards (14,089) or total touchdowns (102) over the first three seasons of a career. Herbert is also the only quarterback in NFL history to begin a career with three consecutive seasons of 4,000-plus passing yards and the second player ever to throw 25 touchdowns in each of their first three years, joining Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning.
Arth came to the City of Angels after spending the previous three years (2019-21) as the head coach at the University of Akron following two seasons (2017-18) at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The first four years of Arth's nine-year run as a collegiate head coach were spent at the helm of his alma mater, John Carroll University (2013-16), where he initially joined the coaching staff after playing professionally for six years.
Over Arth's four seasons as the head coach at John Carroll, the Blue Streaks posted a 40-8 record and earned three postseason appearances. He was named Ohio Athletic Conference Coach of the Year on two occasions (2013, '16) — including National Coach of the Year recognition in 2016. Arth helped produce 55 All-OAC selections and 12 All-Americans in his four-year tenure as head coach.
That 2016 season saw John Carroll claim the program's first outright OAC title in over 25 years, defeating No. 1-ranked Mount Union to earn the conference title. In the postseason, Arth led John Carroll to an appearance in the National Semifinal Round for the second time in program history, which included a win at No. 1-ranked Wisconsin-Whitewater en route to the National Semifinal berth. Arth also led John Carroll to the postseason in each of his first two seasons at the helm (2013-14), marking the first time in school history that the program earned a playoff berth in consecutive years.
Before taking over as head coach, Arth spent his first three seasons (2010-12) at John Carroll in a support capacity. Over that span, his roles included director of football operations, co-offensive coordinator, assistant recruiting coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Arth started four seasons at quarterback for the Blue Streaks, setting 18 school records over his playing career. He earned consensus All-America recognition following each of his final two seasons and guided the Blue Streaks to a 12-2 record as a senior in 2002, earning a playoff berth and guiding the team to the National Semifinal Round for the first time in program history. Arth was named to D3Football.com's All-Decade Team (2000s) and was inducted into the university's athletic Hall of Fame in 2013.
Arth was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Indianapolis Colts in 2003 following his record-setting career at John Carroll. He spent three seasons (2003-05) as a backup to Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning. In each of those seasons, the Colts won the AFC South Division. The Indianapolis staff, led by Hall of Fame Coach Tony Dungy and Hall of Fame General Manager Bill Polian, also featured Chargers General Manager Tom Telesco, who served as the director of pro scouting each of Arth's final two seasons.
His first two off-seasons with the Colts were spent playing in in NFL Europe, first with the Scottish Claymores in 2004, then the Hamburg Sea Devils in 2005. He then signed with Green Bay in 2006 and spending training camp with the Packers, operating in a group that featured Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers. Arth later spent training camp with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League, before capping his career in the Arena Football League from 2007-08.
Arth and his wife, Lauren, have five children — Caroline, Tommy, Kate, Patrick, and Elizabeth.
