Jon Gruden file
Born Aug. 17, 1963, in Sandusky
Transferred from Muskingum College to the University of Dayton, where he was the backup quarterback under coach Mike Kelly from 1982-84.
NFL coaching stops include San Francisco (quality control), Green Bay (wide receivers), Philadelphia (offensive coordinator), Oakland (head coach), Tampa Bay (head coach).
Youngest head coach to win a Super Bowl at age 39, leading Tampa Bay to the Super Bowl XXXVII win over Oakland.
Monday Night Football and ESPN analyst since 2009.
Nicknamed "Chucky," because of resemblance at times to the killer doll in Child's Play movies and his intense coaching style.
CENTERVILLE — Under an early afternoon sky filled with gray clouds, some producing a light drizzle and making it feel more like football season than a summer golf fundraiser, Jon Gruden stepped to the tee on the par-3, No. 13 at the Golf Club at Yankee Trace.
Gruden, the ESPN football analyst, fixed that steely gaze on the golf ball and let it rip.
Terrelle Pryor likely knows the feeling.
The lastest guest on Gruden’s popular QB Camp show, the former Ohio State University quarterback recently spent time with Gruden for a one-hour special that airs Thursday (9 p.m., ESPN).
Gruden came away impressed with Pryor’s talents and athletic ability. When asked what round he would take Pryor if he were an NFL general manager, Gruden smiled and thought for a moment.
“I’m not a GM and I’ve already been accused of not really knowing much about quarterbacks,” Gruden said, smiling. “That’s a good question. I think it depends on the vision you have of Pryor three years down the road. I don’t think it’s going to happen right away for him. I’d take him pretty high. I don’t know I’d take him in the first round, I’d want to learn as much as I could about him and who the real Terrelle Pryor is.”
Gruden, a former University of Dayton quarterback who was in Centerville for UD’s Tony Ernst Memorial Golf Tournament on Friday, talked to Pryor and broke down film with him for six hours at Gruden’s Fired Football Coaches Association (FFCA) offices in Tampa, Fla., and also worked out Pryor at the University of South Florida.
A two-minute exchange concerning Pryor’s NCAA violations was posted on ESPN as a teaser with Gruden asking Pryor what happened at OSU?
“Pretty much me making mistakes, especially losing a great coach to this great university,” Pryor says, referring to Jim Tressel, who resigned amid the scandal. “It’s a disaster. I’m very heartfelt for it. I’m very sorry, but at the same time, I have to move on. I have a life I have to live. I’m disgusted with what went down, what had to happen to the university.
“I regret the fact that Coach Tress had to leave and the fact I had to leave. I wish I could still be there with my teammates.”
Said Gruden, who has also done shows with Sam Bradford, Cam Newton, Tim Tebow and Cincinnati Bengals second-round pick Andy Dalton: “The object of these shows is not to try to uncover every negative thing that exists. I don’t really know the exactness of what happened at Ohio State. I do know Pryor is disgusted and feels terrible about what has occurred. At the same time, he just turned 22 on Monday and he’s got to move on with his life.”
Gruden compared the 6-foot-6, 230-pound Pryor to Detroit Lions receiver Calvin Johnson for athletic ability and said he’d put the elusive scrambler at quarterback in goal-line and short-yardage situations. The coach also said he was impressed with Pryor’s ability to throw out of the shotgun, in the pocket, on the move and with awkward deliveries.
“If he gets with the right offensive coach he’s one of those guys that can be a terror to defenses,” Gruden said. “He has some work to do fundamentally, he knows that, but he does have rare talent.”
Gruden — already sporting a mid-summer tan and decked out in his black FFCA visor, red Ernst golf shirt, khaki shorts and Under Armour tennis shoes in Ohio State colors (likely coincidental) — took time Friday to work on his golf game while waiting for foursomes (there were 140 golfers overall) to arrive on the 13th hole. The Sandusky native and coach who guided the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the Super Bowl title in 2003 posed for a group photo before teeing it up with the golfers, then repeating the process. In between groups he drove balls toward — and sometimes in — the water to the left of the green.
Gruden signed a few autographs, shook a lot of hands and received a compliment perhaps better than a hole-in-one. “You’re much better looking in person,” said one woman after being introduced.
While the next quarterback to undergo Chucky’s scrutiny hasn’t been announced, Gruden thinks it’s possible another OSU signal caller could be on his show three or four years from now. Gruden spent a few days at Ohio State’s spring practice and liked what he saw from the Buckeyes, including former Wayne High School quarterback and OSU freshman Braxton Miller.
“I don’t know if he’s going to be the opening day starter but I do know they’re excited about him and they should be. He’s a great kid and an athletic guy,” Gruden said. “Braxton, or whoever the quarterback is, has to fill some big shoes. They’ve got a hell of a coach there. This (coach Luke) Fickell knows what he’s doing. ... They’re on their feet. I don’t know exactly what happened but I do know they have a lot of really good players.”
Like those golf balls at Yankee Trace, Gruden — who tries to hit Milano’s and The Pine Club on trips back to Dayton — took a few swings at a variety of topics:
• Playing for former UD coach Mike Kelly, who will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in July: “It’s a tremendous feeling to say, ‘Hey I played for a hall-of-fame coach.’ I don’t think any of us at that time looked at him as a hall of famer. His record, his passion is unmatched. He’s a guy I feel privileged to have played for. ... I knew I wanted to coach and when I came to Dayton I realized I wasn’t a very good player. ... That’s why Kelly is a hall of famer. He’s smart enough to put me on the bench.”
• On if there will be an NFL season: “I think there will be football, because football is a necessity in this country if you ask me. They’ll work it out at some point but there is some damage that has been done.”
• If he plans to coach again: “I want to coach again. It’s in my blood and I love to do it. But I really enjoy what I’m doing right now.”
• On his brother, Jay, the Bengals’ new offensive coordinator: “I’m there to support my brother. Unfortunately he hasn’t really met his players because of this lockout. ... I know he’s put his time in. He’s won at every level that he’s been at whether as a player or coach. I think he’ll do a good job.”
• On Bengals’ QB Dalton: “I think Dalton will do a nice job. It’s just important that he gets to work.”
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