Buccaneers: Gruden shines in Ring of Honor press conference
By James Yarcho
Jon Gruden was as fun as you’d expect when the Buccaneers hosted their Ring of Honor press conference Wednesday.
There was something about seeing Jon Gruden sporting a Buccaneers polo and visor that would make any fan nostalgic. The passion he spoke with, the humor he brought, and the stories he told all while looking the same way he did all the way back in his introductory press conference in 2002.
There was an appreciation, a humbled tone about him as he spoke with the media Wednesday at One Buc Place. To reminisce about that championship run, conversations with fellow Ring of Honor inductee Malcom Glazer, and to do so in the manner, with the message, that he did – that he still is and forever will be a Tampa Bay Buccaneer.
His father coached with John McKay, Jon was a ball boy for Giles and Williams, to come full circle and be the lone Super Bowl winning coach in franchise history. His parents still live in the area, as do he and his wife. Tampa is Gruden’s home, the Buccaneers his heart.
It wouldn’t be a press conference (you can view the presser in its entirety here) with Jon if it weren’t for some laughs. When asked if any moments of that 2002 season stuck out, Gruden pointed out his quarterback, Brad Johnson, who was in the crowd and he spoke about being Rich Gannon and how hard he and Johnson worked together just to beat the Bucs’ defense in practice, let alone opposing defenses on Sundays;
"“Here’s a guy that wanted to be in the shotgun. He wanted to be in the shotgun, he was most comfortable in the shotgun. I didn’t know a damn thing about shotgun. I’ll be the last coach in the history of this league that went wire-to-wire with zero snaps from the shotgun. But, he never got ticked off. He never got mad and I appreciate that. I wanted to tell you that, Brad. We would not have won that without you. But, my favorite memory was when I played quarterback. I was Rich Gannon. I was ripping you guys, Derrick Brooks. I was throwing slants, square-ins. I was checking off. If I had played in the Super Bowl for the Oakland Raiders, it might not have been the same outcome. That’s what I remember the most. I remember the excitement to go in there, as a football coach – and we had our obstacles on offense.”"
Former Bucs receiver Michael Clayton was also there – and dressed to the nines, as Gruden pointed out on multiple occasions – and he asked Gruden what advice he would give Koetter on how to win a championship. It might have been the best answer Gruden gave all afternoon;
"“Well, I would tell him and I would tell the players the same thing I tried to tell you guys [his former players] every year. There’s a rock out there in the lobby, you’ve just got to pound it. The rock is the opponent. If I try to slam that rock and break that rock by myself, it’s probably not going to happen. I need Gerald McCoy, I need the linebackers, I need the kicker, I need everybody to pound that rock, so we can smash it into smithereens. That’s how you win and dominate in this league. It’s about every guy in the building. Once you cut this thing down to 53 [players on the roster], everybody’s got to become a grinder. One thought, one mind, one message every day – it’s about the team, it’s about the rock, it’s about finishing and competing because they’ve got enough talent to do it. If they can stay injury free, have a little luck along the way and pound the rock – the Bucs are back. You watch and see.”"
The Bucs are back.
Read it again.
The Bucs are back.
That’s the sentiment of a guy who has to watch film every day of every team in order to do his job as color analyst for ESPN’s Monday Night Football. A guy who wishes he could coach Jameis Winston. The sentiment that this team – after years of struggles, coaching turnover, poor drafts – has been rebuilt by Jason Licht and are now in a position to make noise again.
Although I said my piece about Gruden being inducted before Tony Dungy, I find myself slightly retracting my stance. Yes, Dungy was the man that turned this team around. However, he never made it to the biggest game with the Bucs. Gruden did. However, that’s not why I’m backtracking ever so slightly.
It’s the passion.
It’s the passion Gruden spoke with today. The love he still has for this team, the Glazer family, the fans, the community. I don’t think the same can be said for Dungy. It’s the fact that Gruden still calls himself a Buccaneer – when speaking about the 2017 team he used the term “we” because he still feels such a strong connection to the franchise.
It’s going to be a wonderful experience to be in Raymond James Stadium on Monday December 18 when Jon Gruden leaves the ESPN booth to step on to the field and be forever enshrined as a member of the Ring of Honor. To have his name alongside the owner that traded for him and the players that brought his vision to reality, that matched his intensity, energy, enthusiasm, and love for the game of football that culminated in a Lombardi trophy.
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The Bucs are indeed back.
Pound. The. Rock.