Former NFL quarterback Ryan Mallett had a wide variety of aspirations before his tragic drowning death at 35 on Tuesday.

But one of his foremost hopes was to become a coach, following the mold laid first by his family.

“Everyone in my family – my dad and his brothers – go by Coach,” he said to Whole Hog Sports in May. “Coach Mallett, that’s all I’ve ever heard. I was going to be a coach.

“I started going to practices as a toddler. My earliest memory of a practice was going to one of my dad’s practices and I climbed on the blocking rack and got my head stuck. I was hanging from my head and they had to pull me out.”

Mallett, who was drafted in the third round by the New England Patriots in 2011, finished his NFL career in 2017 after playing in 21 games and went on to coach at White Hall High School in Arkansas in February 2022.

He returned to his home state after starring at the University of Arkansas for two years during his college career, highlighted by a triumphant senior season in which he threw for 3,869 yards and 32 touchdowns, breaking the passing record for total yards during a season — which still stands today.

He relished the opportunity to coach after his five-year career in the NFL, in which he was mostly a backup, ended.

“I hope I’m a man now,” he said to Whole Hog Sports. “I’m 35. That’s halfway to 70.

“I did a lot of things as a kid. I know how to conduct my business now.

“My job is to help shape and mold young people. This is the time a lot of them are finding out about themselves. I hope I can help them.”

Members all around the football community mourned his unexpected loss after he was swept up by a riptide and drowned in Florida on Tuesday.

“We lost a great man. Thank you for everything Ryan,” Tom Brady, who played with Mallett in New England, wrote in an Instagram story that included a photo of the two of them at Patriots practice. “Praying for the Mallett family and all their loved ones tonight.”