Jay Gruden Going to Super Bowl
January 20, 2003 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I) News Release
Orlando Predators quarterback JAY GRUDEN, who has won six ArenaBowl championships as both a player and head coach, and who is moonlighting as a Tampa Bay Buccaneers assistant coach, can win his seventh pro football championship this Sunday when the Buccaneers face the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII.
Gruden, the younger brother of Buccaneers Head Coach JON GRUDEN, finished the 2002 AFL season on August 10 after the Predators lost to the eventual ArenaBowl champion San Jose SaberCats in the League Semifinals. He then accepted an assistant coaching position from his brother under the conditions the job would not prevent him from playing quarterback for the Predators in 2003. He will join Orlando immediately after the Super Bowl.
Gruden's championship pedigree may be rubbing off on the Buccaneers. He is 6-1 in AFL championship games. Gruden won four ArenaBowls as a player with the Tampa Bay Storm from 1991-96 before retiring to become a coach. He was elected to the Arena Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1999. As head coach of the Orlando Predators from 1998-2001, Gruden won two more ArenaBowls, but returned to the field as quarterback of the Predators in 2002.
Following Sunday's Super Bowl, Gruden will immediately begin preparations to step back on the field for Orlando. The Predators first game is at the Chicago Rush on Sunday, February 2 on NBC (3 p.m. ET). NBC Sports will broadcast up to 70 AFL games â the second-most number of games of any sports league on network-TV, behind only the NFL â including all playoff games and ArenaBowl XVII on June 22. February 2 is the first of nineteen weeks of regional coverage on NBC.
Following is a summary of Gruden's football history:
Occupation, Team, League, Years, Championships
Quarterback, Louisville, NCAA, 1985-88
Quarterback, Tampa Bay Storm, AFL, 1991-96, 4 ArenaBowls
Assistant Coach, Nashville Kats, AFL, 1997
Head Coach, Orlando Predators, AFL, 1998-2001, 2 ArenaBowls
Quarterback, Orlando Predators, AFL, 2002
Assistant Coach, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, NFL, 2002, Possible Super Bowl
Quarterback*, Orlando Predators, AFL, 2003
*Expected starting quarterback
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