Jay Gruden

Jay Michael Gruden (born March 4, 1967) is an American football coach and former quarterback. He previously served as the head coach of the Washington Redskins from 2014 to 2019 and as offensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals and Jacksonville Jaguars. During his time in the Arena Football League (AFL), he won four ArenaBowls as a player and two more as a head coach. Gruden is the younger brother of former NFL head coach Jon Gruden and was an assistant coach of the 2002 Buccaneers team that won Super Bowl XXXVII.

Of Slovene descent, Gruden was born in Tiffin, Ohio, and was raised a Roman Catholic. He attended George D. Chamberlain High School in Tampa, Florida, where he played quarterback for the Chamberlain Chiefs high school football team under head coach Billy Turner. Gruden earned All-Western Conference First Team recognition.

Gruden attended the University of Louisville, where he was a four-year letterman at Louisville Cardinals football team (1985–1988). He finished his collegiate career with 7,024 passing yards (as of 2013, fourth all-time for the school), completing 572 of 1049 passes for 44 touchdowns. All four stats still rank in the top five in Cardinals history. He also ranks in Louisville's top 10 for yards per completion, passing attempts in a season, and completions in a season. He ranks eighth in career completion percentage, seventh in career passing efficiency, and ninth in average yards per game for the Cardinals. Gruden threw for over 300 yards in a game six times at Louisville. Gruden led the team to an 8–3 record as a senior, their first winning season in 10 years. After his playing career ended, Gruden remained active with the football program at Louisville, gaining his first coaching experience as a student assistant in 1989 and as a graduate assistant in the 1990 and 1991 seasons.

Gruden played two seasons in the World League of American Football in Spain (with Barcelona in 1991 and with the Scottish Claymores in Scotland in 1995).

Gruden was signed to the Miami Dolphins practice squad after an injury to starter Dan Marino shortly before the 1989 season opener, but was waived several days later.

Gruden won four ArenaBowl titles as the starting quarterback of the Tampa Bay Storm in the Arena Football League. He was named the league's MVP in 1992. After stepping off the field to coach, Gruden returned to the field in 2002 as a member of the Orlando Predators.

Gruden began his coaching career as the offensive coordinator for the AFL's Nashville Kats in 1997. In 1998, he became head coach of the Orlando Predators, the main rival of the Storm. With Orlando, he won ArenaBowl titles in 1998 and 2000. He came out of retirement and resumed playing in 2002, this time for the Predators, but retired again and returned to head coaching when his replacement, Fran Papasedero, died after the 2003 season. Gruden has an overall AFL head coaching record of 93–61, including a mark of 11–7 in the playoffs.

From 2002 to 2008, he served as an offensive assistant for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the National Football League under his brother, head coach Jon Gruden, earning a Super Bowl ring for the Bucs' win in Super Bowl XXXVII. He left the team after his brother was fired following the 2008 season.