Jon Gruden Got To Set The Record Straight About "Threatening To Cut Maxx Crosby" And Delivered A Great Story As Usual
Jon Gruden has been an electric factory since arriving to the hallowed halls of Barstool Sports.
An outspoken enemy of Roger Goodell's, there wasn't a more natural fit for him than on our team.
I don't think anybody could have forseen just how great he would be in front of a camera, without being weighed down by the shackles of Disney and Mike Tirico.
From his skit on "Out of Order", which was must watch-
to his ability to make tuning in to watch people watch games actually entertaining, is unmatched.
Last week in New Orleans he caught up with his former player Max Crosby and put a longstanding misconception to rest, all while delivery some more fantastic stories.
Crosby has shared in several podcast interviews, including his own, The Rush with Maxx Crosby, that during his first training camp, whenever the offense and defense lined up for live drills, he had an instinct to bat down passes.
However, Gruden, who was trying to iron out the offense’s issues, didn’t want defensive linemen interfering with passes. After Crosby kept batting them down, Gruden gave him a stern warning: he’d be cut if he didn’t stop.
"I am gonna clarify this to everybody," Gruden said after watching clips of Crosby explaining that the coach wanted to cut him. "Our tackles, our offensive linemen were not allowed to cut the defensive linemen below the legs in quick protection (in training camp). So I told the D-line since we were not going to block low, not to jump up and bat balls down.
"But you didn't listen, you jumped up and batted nine balls down in one practice."
"I can't help myself," said Crosby.
Gruden went on: "Finally, I said, 'If you bat one more ball down, I am gonna cut your ass. Meaning, we were gonna cut your legs out."
"For five years," Crosby said, "I legitimately thought you were going to cut me on the field."
It turns out, Gruden told Crosby, the whole thing was a misunderstanding.
Crosby wasn’t on the chopping block after all. Instead, Gruden had a different plan, he was going to have the offensive linemen take Crosby’s legs out while blocking.
As great as that story was, this one about how Crosby actually ended up getting on the Raiders' radar, and being drafted by them in the 4th round was even better.
“I have an assistant named Jeff Leonardo. I swear to God, Jeff has been with me, he drove the bus on Monday Night Football. Jeff is the only guy I know that watches Mid America Conference football games on Tuesday. [He] never says a word. All he does is drive me to and from work. [Jeff] walks in one day and goes, ‘There’s a son of a bitch at Eastern Michigan. His name’s Maxx Crosby.’"
Gruden went on to say that Leonardo bugged him about Crosby for six months, and ultimately, Las Vas ended up taking him.
Gold.
How this guy isn't still coaching this team is a crime. You can't name a better fit in the NFL. It's gotta kill Raiders fans.
I actually listened to this entire interview last night on the Peloton and the whole thing is gold and worth listening to.
Hiring Gruden was the steal of the century for us. It almost makes up for Dave hiring Rappaport. Almost.
Advertisement
His new show "Gruden Goes Long" is awesome so make sure you like and subscribe.