David Carr: Education, Football Career, and Beyond

David Duke Carr, born on July 21, 1979, is a multifaceted individual who has made significant contributions to both the world of professional football and sports analysis. He is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons.

Early Life and Education

David Carr was born in Bakersfield, California. He attended Valley Oak Elementary School in Fresno, California. He continued on to Clovis Unified's Kastner Intermediate School in Fresno, where he proceeded to break a number of California D-I middle school records as quarterback of the Thunderbirds. Carr began as the starting quarterback at Fresno State during the 2000 and 2001 seasons after redshirting in 1999. While he was quarterback, the Bulldogs went 7-5 and 11-3. He began to gain recognition for his talent and leadership on the field during his time there.

College Football Career

Carr played college football at Fresno State, where he achieved considerable success. In his senior season the team beat Colorado, Oregon State, and Wisconsin, all members of BCS conferences. There was speculation about whether the Bulldogs would qualify for a BCS bid, something then unheard of for a BCS non-automatic qualifying conference team. He won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and Sammy Baugh Trophy in 2001.

NFL Career

Houston Texans (2002-2006)

With the first overall pick of the 2002 NFL draft, the Houston Texans, a new expansion team, selected Carr. His professional career began on a productive note. The Texans played their first regular season game on September 8, 2002, defeating the Dallas Cowboys, 19-10, at Houston's Reliant Stadium. Houston became just the second expansion team to win its first game. However, Carr was sacked 76 times during that season, which set a league record. He also set the NFL record for fumble recoveries in a single season, recovering 12 of his own. Kyler Murray broke the record for fumbles recovered with his 13th recovered fumble in the 2021 season. He finished his rookie year of 2002 with 2,592 passing yards, 9 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions. He also rushed for 282 yards along with 3 rushing touchdowns. In the 2003 season, Carr played 12 games (11 starts) with 2,103 passing yards, 9 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions. He also rushed for 151 yards with 2 rushing touchdowns and was sacked only 15 times. Carr started all 16 games in 2004 being sacked a league-leading 49 times. He passed for 3,531 yards with 16 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. The 2005 season began poorly as the Texans were 1-9 in their first 10 games, and plummeted to a 2-14 record to finish the season. Plagued by injuries and an ineffective offensive line that limited both the running and passing games, Carr still threw for 2,488 yards while being sacked a league-leading 68 times. The Texans finished the 2006 season at 6-10. For the season, Carr posted a completion percentage of 68.9% (a career-high) and tied the then single-game NFL record of 22 consecutive pass completions (against the Buffalo Bills). However, new Texans general manager Rick Smith decided to go in a different direction at quarterback.

Carolina Panthers (2007)

Carr agreed to terms with the Carolina Panthers on April 6, 2007, signing a two-year, $6.2 million contract. Following an injury to starting quarterback Jake Delhomme, Carr was named the starter. He played in six games (started four games) and had three touchdowns and five interceptions, with a 53.7 completion percentage and a passer rating of 58.3. Carr suffered a back injury during the fifth game of the season (a victory vs.

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New York Giants (2008-2009, 2011)

On March 12, 2008, Carr signed a one-year contract with the New York Giants, reuniting with former Houston offensive coordinator Chris Palmer. Subsequently, the Giants released former backup quarterback Jared Lorenzen. Carr backed up Eli Manning for two seasons. Carr signed with the Giants on July 31, 2011, as the backup quarterback to starter Eli Manning. Carr received his only Super Bowl ring in the 2011 season after the Giants beat the New England Patriots 21-17 in Super Bowl XLVI. He did not play a single snap during the 2011 regular season.

San Francisco 49ers (2010)

Carr signed with the San Francisco 49ers after two years with NY Giants.

Career as Analyst and Coach

After Carr’s football career ended in 2013, he was not sure what he wanted to do next. But that indecision changed after a former teammate invited him to do a one-off spot on a TV show, talking about football. He liked it but didn’t want to have to fly to the East Coast regularly.

He talks football for both ABC 30 and iHeartMedia.

The move to Fresno means Carr will have to step back from his job as an offensive coordinator with Bakersfield Christian’s football program.

Personal Life and Family

David Carr was born on July 21, 1979, in Bakersfield, California. Married to Melody Carr since 1999. Austin, Tyler, Cooper, Grace, Piper, and one other child. His brother Derek was also a quarterback in the NFL until his retirement in 2025.

Carr’s father sold cars at dealerships in Bakersfield and Fresno, so he grew up knowing the world of auto sales.

Community Involvement

“Over the last decade, David - alongside his brother Derek and their families - has been a pillar of support for Valley Children’s,” said Valley Children’s CEO Todd Suntrapak.

His personal and business relationships in the Valley long have connected him with Valley Children’s Hospital and Educational Employees Credit Union. Now they have broadened to include Groppetti Automotive and Table Mountain Casino.

David Carr (center) poses with Valley Children’s Hospital CEO Todd Suntrapak (left) and Fresno State President Saul Jimenez-Sandoval to announce the hospital’s purchase of the naming rights to Bulldog Stadium in August 2021.

David Carr: Theologian and Professor

Another notable David Carr is a distinguished theologian and professor. Before coming to Union in August 1999, Dr. Carr served as an assistant, associate, and full professor of Old Testament at Methodist Theological School in Ohio from 1988-1999, being awarded the Williams Chair in Biblical Interpretation in 1998. He was the 1993-1994 recipient of the Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship and Association of Theological Schools Young Scholars Theological Fellowship in support of a year-long research project on the shape and formation of Genesis (1993-1994). Starting in 2005, he began serving as the American co-chair of the editorial board for a new International Exegetical Commentary on the Old Testament. (IECOT).

Education

Carr received a B.A. in Philosophy from Carleton College in 1980, an M.T.S. from Candler School of Theology in 1983, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Religion from Claremont Graduate University in 1988.

Publications

Professor Carr’s book-length publications include From D to Q: A Study of Early Jewish Interpretations of Solomon’s Dream at Gibeon (Scholars Press, 1991); Reading the Fractures of Genesis: Historical and Literary Approaches (Westminster, 1996); The Erotic Word: Sexuality, Spirituality and the Bible(Oxford, 2003); Writing on the Tablet of the Heart: Origins of Western Scripture and Literature (Oxford, 2005); (as co-editor) A Gift of God in Due Season: Essays on Scripture and Community in Honor of James A. Sanders, co-edited with Richard D. Weis (Sheffield, England, 1996); and Introduction to the Old Testament: Sacred Texts and Imperial Contexts of the Hebrew Bible (Oxford: Blackwell, 2010) along with (a briefer version incorporated in) Introduction to the Bible: Sacred Texts and Imperial Contexts (with Colleen Conway; Oxford: Blackwell, 2010); The Formation of the Hebrew Bible: A New Reconstruction (New York: Oxford University Press 2011); Holy Resilience: The Bible’s Traumatic Origins (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2014); The Formation of Genesis 1-11: Biblical and Other Precursors (New York: Oxford University Press, 2020); Genesis 1-11: A Commentary (in the International Exegetical Commentary on the Old Testament series; Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 2021) and completely revised second editions of the above-listed textbooks: The Hebrew Bible: A Contemporary Introduction to the Christian Old Testament and Jewish Tanakh (Wiley Blackwell, 2021) and (with Colleen Conway) A Contemporary Introduction to the Bible: Sacred Texts and Imperial Contexts (Wiley Blackwell, 2021).

Research Interests

Currently, Professor Carr is engaged in ongoing research linking the field of animal studies to interpretation of the Bible and exploration of how models for the formation and early use of the Bible could be informed by an interdisciplinary ‘scroll approach’ drawing on scroll research in Egyptology, Qumran Studies, Classics and other areas.

Professor Carr’s teaching and research interests include the formation and shape of the Bible, sexuality and gender in the Bible, the intersection of historical-critical and literary approaches to the Bible, the emergence of Scripture in the Jewish and Christian traditions, orality and memory, trauma and animal studies. Biblical books in which Carr has particular expertise include Genesis, Exodus, Isaiah and the Song of Songs.

Recent Courses

HB 101 Introduction to the Hebrew Bible FALL 2021 The Hebrew Bible is a complex collection of texts written over many centuries in socioculturally distinct settings, reflecting a wide range of religious, political, historical, and ethical perspectives. Students engage in academic and critical study of the Hebrew Bible, seeking to understand diverse texts within their historical and cultural contexts.
IE/HB 222 The Song of Songs and Readings in Interreligious Perspective FALL 2020 A broad introduction to the Bible and sexuality leading to an extended exploration of the Song of Songs and its Jewish and Christian readings in comparison with erotic mysticism in Islam and Hinduism.
BX 229 The Bible Beyond Humans: Biblical Construal of Animals SPRING 2022 This course draws on fields such as animal studies, new materialism, posthumanism and object oriented ontology to reexamine the way the Bible organizes the world beyond humans, with a particular emphasis on how the Bible, especially the Hebrew Bible, has offered influential constructions of nonhuman 'animals'. The focus starts with the construction of the broader world in diverse strands of Genesis 1-9, but includes opportunities for engagement of texts across both Hebrew Bible and New Testament.
BX 241 Trauma and the Bible SPRING 2021 This course explores how interpretation of the Bible is enriched through understanding how it speaks from and to trauma, particularly communal trauma (disaster, war, forced migration). The focus is several case studies, such as texts formed in Babylonian exile or in the wake of the crucifixion of Jesus. In what ways have the traumatic experiences of imperial attack and forced migration left their mark on these parts of the Bible, and are there ways in which these texts evoke and even help cultivate a collective identity oriented toward trauma in the communities who cherish the Bible as Scripture? How might insights inform interpretation of biblical texts? FALL 2020 Students explore how interpretation of the Bible can be illuminated through being informed by diverse theoretical perspectives, such as orality studies, trauma studies, animal studies, postcolonial criticism, ecocriticism, queer theory, etc.
HB 313A Intermediate Hebrew I: Prose FALL 2021 An intermediate biblical Hebrew course; part one of a two-semester course. Students read prose texts in the fall, and poetry in the spring. Work includes issues of grammar, syntax, vocabulary, reading aloud, and use of critical tools.
HB 313B Intermediate Hebrew II: Poetry SPRING 2022 Students read poetry as part two of this two-semester course. Work includes issues of grammar, syntax, vocabulary, reading aloud, and use of critical tools. Class meetings are determined between faculty and students in the fall semester, for both courses. SPRING 2021 A detailed exegetical exploration of the poetry, literary shape, background, and development of the book of Isaiah, including attention to the different ways Jews and Christians have used the book. FALL 2021 This course begins by surveying Genesis 1-11, using texts from these chapters to learn and practice methods of historically-informed close reading of biblical texts.

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