Gotta love Gruden, I do!!!
Vic Carucci
•Some coaches never stop coaching, even when their team is nowhere in sight. Jon Gruden falls into that category. During a recent visit to the construction site of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' new training facility, Gruden took some time to both thank workers for what they've accomplished over the past 10 months and to give a little pep talk. In reference to the August deadline for completion, Gruden told them it was the fourth quarter and that they were in a two-minute drill. "Finish strong," he said. "We need you, man. We're pulling for you to finish it like you started it." That encounter reminded me of when I collaborated with Gruden in 2003 on his book, Do You Love Football?! (Winning with Heart, Passion & Not Much Sleep). There were a couple of times when, after getting off the long flight to Tampa and dragging myself to another of our many interviews, he would see the fatigue in my face and promptly start coaching in that unmistakably loud, sandpaper-coarse voice that gets everyone's attention on the practice field: "Hey, how are you doing? Are you ready to go? Let's get after it!" I have to admit, it usually was very effective.
•Speaking of Gruden … Although Jon's father, Jim, is a former football coach, the greatest influence on his workaholic coaching style is his mother, Kathy, a former elementary school teacher. "If there was an elementary school teacher that worked more hours than my mom, I'd like to meet him or her," Gruden said. "She was grading papers until long after we went to bed. She was up at 5 o'clock in the morning every day, showing up for work two hours before her students got to class. I know, I know. Like mother, like son."
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Gotta love Gruden, I do!!!
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