The Jon Gruden Effect

In 2002, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made a bold move. Fed up with annual playoff disappointments, they fired Tony Dungy and went after Oakland Raiders head coach Jon Gruden to replace him. It cost the Bucs two first round picks and two second round picks (not to mention $8 million in cash), but they got their man. The Raiders turned the reigns over to Bill Callahan, who was Gruden's offensive coordinator for four seasons. Both teams made out well from the deal. Tampa compiled the NFL's best defense and advanced to Super Bowl XXXVII. The Raiders also earned a berth in the Super Bowl and had the league's #1 offense. It was because of that dominate offense that Oakland entered the game as the favorites. QB Rich Gannon was the NFL's MVP, veteran Tim Brown had a huge season, and Jerry Rice had always been clutch in Super Bowls past. RB Charlie Gardner was even a key target for Gannon, catching 91 passes out of the backfield that year. However, Tampa Bay ended up blowing out Oakland in a performance that saw them intercept Gannon five times.

So what happened to the vaunted Raiders offense? The primary reason for Tampa Bay's dominance was Gruden's intricate knowledge of Oakland's system. Having been Callahan's boss for four years, he knew exactly what his protégé would do. During the week leading up to the Super Bowl, Gruden prepped his players by playing the part of Gannon on the Bucs scout team. Their defense knew what to look for. In a now famous clip, NFL Films captured Bucs safety John Lynch laughing with his teammates on the sidelines about how they knew what play was coming next. The Raiders even used the same audible signals that Gruden had created! It was the easiest takedown since the 1919 World Series.

Fast forward a few years. Steelers offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt built the Steelers offense around superstar QB Ben Roethlisberger. He helped Pittsburgh win their first title in 26 years. He was rewarded by being offered the head coaching job in Arizona, a place that had never even tasted winning. Wiz did such an amazing job that he took his team all the way to the Super Bowl in just his second year, where they will meet none other than his former team. So how does this compare to Gruden's dismantling of the Raiders?

Whisenhunt knows the offense. While Bruce Arians runs a different offense, he was still one of Wiz's assistants. More importantly, Whisenhunt knows Ben. He helped make Ben into what he is today. He knows his tendencies and he knows how to exploit him. He did just that when these two teams met last season. The Cardinals defense picked off Roethlisberger twice in a 21-14 win. Wiz also coached with Dick Lebeau, so he likely understands the Steelers defense better than most other coaches could. He took assistants like Russ Grimm with him as well, so the whole staff has a good understanding of how to play the Steelers and the strengths/weaknesses of their personnel. This could spell BIG trouble for Pittsburgh.

On the flip side of that argument, there are big differences between this situation and the Gruden situation. For one, Wiz was not the head coach of the team, just the offensive coordinator. The Steelers also did not hire one of Whisenhunt's understudies to coach the team. Rather, they went outside the organization for someone who Whisenhunt has no familiarity with at all. You could also make the argument that the inside knowledge factor goes both ways. Lebeau's defense went up against Whisenhunt's offense every day in practice. Shouldn't Lebeau then have an idea of Wiz and Grimm will want to do? And even if the Cardinals do have a lot of good prep material to work with, doesn't this game still - like any other game - come down to execution?

There is one more encouraging thought to keep in mind. Mike Tomlin was the defensive backs coach on the 2002 Bucs championship team, so he knows firsthand how dangerous the former coach scenario can be. There is no way that he would allow things like the audible debacle to happen to his team. While he has to be careful not to overcompensate for the fact that Whisenhunt used to be our offensive coordinator, he will no doubt be prepared for it. Let's hope so, because as much as I love Wiz and all he did for the Steelers, I really don't want to see him win his first Super Bowl at our expense.

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