Since arriving at Grudens classroom at 8 a.m. sharp, Carson Wentz has been a rapt pupil. The big-bodied quarterback diagrams a complex passing route from North Dakota States playbook, quickly diagnoses protections and even nods politely as the ex-NFL coach harps about how somebody will need to replace Peyton Manning.
Then Grudenprogressing through a curated lesson plan with a remote controlflashes a picture of the Chiefs defensive coordinator on his projector.
Do you know this guy? Gruden barks.
Wentz pauses. Um...
This guy is a pain in the ass, Gruden says. Bob Sutton. I dont know what hes got on his sheet, but hes got one of the best pressure packages in the league.
On to the next slide.
How about this guy? Gruden asks.
Silence.
This is Mike Smith, Gruden continues. Now hes back as a defensive coordinator [of the Bucs]. Hes a pain in the ass, too.
Gruden scrolls through slides like hes in a hurry-up offense, moving from the Bears Vic Fangio (another pain in the ass) to New Englands Matt Patricia (he has one of the best three-down sub packages in the league) to the Cowboys Rod Marinelli (hes getting into double-A-gap blitzes now.)
This guy, says Gruden, clearly giving up on the quiz, is Dom Capers, the defensive coordinator of the Packers. Hes a badass. And if you know anything about Capers, you know that hes a crunch-time blitzer. Its gotta be on the tip sheet, Carson! I walk in on a Friday and I say hey, Were putting in a two-minute drill. Dom Capers is going to all-out blitz you off a timeout in a two-minute drill!
/////
Gruden wears his heart on his sleeve, and also his title. The FFCA stitched on the polo he wears for the show stands for the Fired Football Coaches Association, which, believe it or not, is a real thing. When Jon was fired by the Bucs in 2009, he was crushed, says Mark Arteaga, Grudens close friend and member of his staff in Oakland and Tampa. Devastated. It was the first time anyone on our staff had been fired, and we didnt know what to do with ourselves. And so for three days a week, at 6 a.m., the staff assembled in a borrowed office at the St. Pete Times Forum, where Gruden would lead mock-coaches meetings. Part of it was that Gruden didnt know what else to do with his time; part of it was so that the staff could stay fresh if they were ever given another opportunity.
The group jokingly called itself the Fired Football Coaches Association, and the name stuck. Eventually Gruden rented his own office, an 800-square-foot space in a strip mall. The meetings were open to anyone who wanted to talk shop. Other fired coaches, like Mike Sherman, stopped in to stay fresh. Local high school coaches would workshop with Gruden, as would Division I football staffs, usually as a pit stop on recruiting trips. The FFCA has since upgraded its digs, and has expanded into a charitable group that provides support and financial assistance to high school football programs, in addition to being a self-styled football think-tank.
Jon is an ambassador for the game, says Tennessee coach Butch Jones, whose staff has visited Gruden at least twice over the past two years.
Hes just as curious about things were doing as we are in picking his brain, adds Vols offensive coordinator Mike DeBord, who said the staff had specific areas they wanted to address with Gruden upon their last visit, including play-action and use of timeouts. Its definitely safe to say theres a few things we learned with Gruden that we added to our playbook in 2015.