"He finished everything": Jon Gruden drops candid admission on Antonio Brown while sending strong message about the NFL's future
Jon Gruden is no longer on an NFL sideline, but football continues to shape the way he thinks and talks about the game. During a recent appearance on Cam Heyward's Not Just Football podcast, the Super Bowl winning coach reflected on one of the biggest disappointments of his career and shared why he believes today's NFL is moving in the wrong direction.Gruden admitted that his failed attempt to bring Antonio Brown to the Raiders remains one of his greatest coaching regrets.
At the same time, he also voiced concern over the way modern offenses are being run, saying the game has lost some of the communication and discipline that once defined it.Jon Gruden says Antonio Brown remains one of the biggest regrets of his coaching careerGruden built a successful coaching resume that included a Super Bowl title with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and later returned to coach the Raiders with hopes of building another championship contender.
One of the boldest moves during that second stint came in 2019 when the Raiders traded for star wide receiver Antonio Brown.Brown never appeared in a regular season game for the franchise after a series of off field issues led to his release before the season even began. Looking back, Gruden admitted the outcome still bothers him because of the talent he believed Brown could have brought to his offense.The former coach explained that his admiration for Brown started long before they became part of the same team.
While working as an ESPN analyst, Gruden often watched the Pittsburgh Steelers during practice and came away convinced Brown was one of the hardest working players he had ever seen. “I’ve kind of been trained my whole life to go get players you cherish, you covet, you really want. Every time I watched the Steelers practice in training camp, every time I saw him practice during the regular season, I was convinced that (if) they didn’t have a fence around the stadium or practice facility, Antonio would get killed by a car.“He finished everything.
I have not seen a guy practice that hard since Jerry Rice. I had to have him.”Gruden also recalled how impressed he was during Brown's short time with the Raiders before everything fell apart.Jon Gruden believes today's NFL has lost an important part of offensive footballAlong with reflecting on his coaching career, Gruden also shared concerns about the direction of today's NFL.
He believes offenses are relying too much on speed and simplified concepts while ignoring communication before the snap.According to Gruden, successful offenses begin with players recognizing defensive looks and making adjustments together instead of rushing to run plays. “We’re just not communicating.
I always use these three letters ‘RCE.’ You got to recognize the defense, recognize the coverage, and then you start to communicate. You can change the play, you can stay with the play, but you got to be a great communicator. And if you can recognize defenses, communicate what you want to do, you got a chance to execute.”He added that many of today's offenses leave him frustrated because they move too quickly without enough preparation at the line of scrimmage.
“When you just run up to the line of scrimmage, clap your hands, and hope for the best. I can’t take all these RPO bubble screens and high turbo tempo offenses with six false starts a game and no communication. ... I’d rather slam my hand in a car door than watch some of this.”Although Gruden has not coached in the NFL since resigning from the Raiders in 2021, he made it clear that his passion for football has not faded.
Whether discussing his biggest career regret or the current state of the league, the former Super Bowl winning coach continues to believe the game's best football is built on preparation, communication, and discipline rather than simply playing at a faster pace.Get the latest Sports News and Live updates.
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