Jay Gruden Firmly Believes He Could One-Up Tony Romo in the Booth
By Liam McKeone
Jay Gruden spent exactly one year as offensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars after a failed stint as head coach of the Washington Football Team. He was relieved of his duties this offseason when the Jags announced they'd be hiring Darren Bevell as a part of Urban Meyer's new staff down in Florida.
Faced with downtime for the first time in a long time, Gruden has wasted no time making headlines. Last week, he told the world that his scouting team would do all the work to prepare for the draft, then owner Daniel Snyder would stroll off his yacht and make the pick for the team. Now, in an interview with The Athletic, Gruden took a shot at the golden boy of today's broadcasting landscape, Tony Romo.
Gruden told WFT reporter Ben Standig that he might do some media appearances since he probably won't get an opportunity to join a coaching staff in his preferred role for the 2021 season. When asked if he had the same foresight as Romo exhibits when it comes to analyzing the offensive formation then predicting what comes next, Gruden responded in no uncertain terms: He could absolutely do that and it's not that impressive Romo can do it anyhow. From the article:
"I could do it every time. He’s only right like 30 percent of the time. Those are usually pretty obvious, I mean (laughs). Nobody talks about the times when he’s wrong, but when he’s right, holy cow, he’s a genius. Oh, come on, man. Sure, it’s a run. Nope, it’s a pass. Sorry, I was wrong."
Every time, eh? Gruden might have a bit of an edge over Romo in this department given he has been coaching for all these years as opposed to only playing, which one would imagine would help in such instances. At the same time, doing it every time? I just don't know.
I'd love to see Gruden get a chance to put his money where his mouth is, though. He is certainly entertaining now that he can speak without fear of repercussion from his employer. Strong personalities, for better and worse, are always fun in the booth.