Jon Gruden shares great story about his rivalry with Andy Reid
Dec 22, 2019; Carson, California, USA; Oakland Raiders head coach Jon Gruden reacts before the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at Dignity Health Sports Park. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Jon Gruden and Andy Reid have a friendly rivalry that dates back more than three decades, and Gruden recently shared a story that painted a great picture of the relationship between the two.
Gruden, who recently signed a deal with Barstool Sports, was a guest on Barstool’s latest “Bussin’ With The Boys” podcast. During the interview, Gruden spoke about how he and Reid worked together as offensive assistants on Mike Holmgren’s staff with the Green Bay Packers in the 1990s.
Gruden said he and Reid would compete to see who could come up with plays that Holmgren might actually use in the game plan. Since Reid played for Holmgren at BYU, Gruden says Reid was like the “teacher’s pet” in Green Bay. Reid once bragged to Gruden when Holmgren used a play that Reid came up with, but Gruden says he got the last laugh later that season.
As Gruden describes it, the Packers used two of his plays during a rainy “Monday Night Football” game against the Chicago Bears. One of the plays resulted in Brett Favre scrambling for a 36-yard touchdown, which was the longest of the Hall of Fame quarterback’s career. The other was a 23-yard completion on 3rd-and-14 that iced the game.
Holmgren appreciated Gruden’s contributions and awarded Gruden with a game ball on the flight home from Chicago. Gruden said he was sure to rub it in Reid’s face. The full story is worth a listen:
This story involving Andy Reid & Jon Gruden is incredible
The fact that they got to be head coaches of a big time rivalry between the Chiefs & Raiders could not have worked any better pic.twitter.com/BK8XSahqwp
— Will Compton (@_willcompton) December 18, 2024
“So we get on the plane, and Holmgren’s sitting in the front with Ron Wolfe, the GM, and I’m in the back. I’ll never forget this. I got my beer and I’m drinking it and I’m thinking, f–, goddamn, that was the greatest day of my life,” Gruden recalled. “Holmgren turns around and he goes, ‘Hey Gruber, come down here.’ I walk down the f–ing thing. I sit next to him, he goes, ‘Game ball. Hell of a job.’ I turn around and I walk back to my seat. I see Andy Reid and I go, ‘Game ball!'”
Gruden was spotted at some Chiefs training camp practices over the summer, and Reid made it clear that the two are still close.
Both Gruden and Reid have won Super Bowls and had extremely successful NFL head coach careers, even if Gruden was forced out over a leaked email scandal. Gruden’s story this week is a reminder of how the two helped shape each other’s careers.
