‘Greatest Thing I’ve Ever Gotten’ — Sawyer Robertson Surprises Jon Gruden With a Gift To Remember the Late Mike Leach

Sawyer Robertson, after starting his career at Mississippi State, transferred to Baylor in 2023. Since then, he’s taken on the starting quarterback role and is now hoping for a spot on an NFL roster through the draft. But he hasn’t forgotten ties to the people who made him.

Recently, he gave a heartfelt gift to former Raiders head coach Jon Gruden. The veteran figure was immediately moved by the gesture, even posting a video all across social media to commemorate it.

Jon Gruden Receives Touching Gift From Sawyer Robertson

Robertson, after two years with the Bulldogs, made his transfer to the Bears. Taking on a starting role in 2024, he tallied back-to-back seasons with over 3,000 passing yards and at least 28 passing touchdowns.

Under head coach Dave Aranda, he got some incredible success and now is hoping to get selected in the 2026 NFL Draft. But his journey began at Mississippi State under the late, great Mike Leach.

The genius behind the Air Raid offense, he had success at each of his three stops, from Texas Tech to Washington State and finally with the Bulldogs. Unfortunately, in December 2022, an undisclosed health condition caused him to be hospitalized in Jackson, Mississippi.

Eventually, it was revealed that he suffered a massive heart attack and seizures that led to his untimely passing the following day. However, his legacy continues to live on with his players and the coaching he instilled into his teams.

Gruden, who was a close friend of Leach, had some close conversations with him and has attributed a ton of draft-day discussions that have informed the way he implements his playbook.

A head coach for 15 seasons in the NFL, Gruden was making offense his specialty at the professional level. Now, as he aims to make a return to the league, he got a rather unique gift from Robertson.

“Hey, Coach, I wanna give this to you since I know you’ll appreciate it,” Robertson told Gruden in a video posted by Barstool Sports.

“I keep this in my wallet. I got 2 of ’em, so I’ll keep one. So this is Leach’s call sheet. This is what he would hold on the sideline.”

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Immediately, a clearly stunned Gruden responded, “No way.” The emotion on his face was clear as he exclaimed, “This is the greatest thing I’ve ever got. This is what he was looking at!”

Gruden also revealed that the two would spend time talking football every year at the NFL Combine. So, while he may not be with us anymore, his legacy is still shining through in a variety of ways.