What? Huh? Gruden is Back?
Dan Ryan
Thursday August 23, 2001
Then it sinks in. As he would say if he were miked for a TV game, how ^&*( brilliant.
Then comes the third thought: Does this mean there’s still hope for Ben Bennett?
In one fell swoop, Gruden and the Orlando Predators have devised a ploy to make everyone forget their schizophrenic 2001 season. Sample script for the telemarketers: “That’s true, Chicago kicked our ass, but hey, GRUDEN’S COMING BACK and don’t you wanna see it?
The interest is already piqued for 2002. It’s no longer just an almost-has-been power trying to regain past glory – it’s a Jordanesque quest to regain the past on the personal and team level.
And what timing. ArenaBowl weekend. Hey, if he couldn’t make it for the fourth consecutive year as a coach, what better way to get some national air time to make an announcement in additional to upstaging Gary Danielson in the booth.
True, he hasn’t played a competitive down in five years, but those close to him say there was a lot of lingering regret about retiring early. The age factor? Gruden’s 34. Doug Flutie’s 38 and starting for the San Diego Chargers. Next.
It may be not an automatic ring, though.. Hey, if all was well, Gruden wouldn’t have needed to do this in the first place. Let’s see what Fran Papasedero comes up with. But hey, we’re interested now.
Dan Ryan has been involved with all forms of arena football since 1988, including writing for ArenaFan when Joe Kauffman and Tim Capper aren’t killing his columns because they don’t get his jokes or perspective. His day job is at Bethune-Cookman University, which has produced both an NFL Hall of Famer (Larry Little) and an Arena Football Hall of Famer (Stevie Thomas) and his hobby is tracking how many f-bombs Adam Markowitz drops in the chat room on game nights.
