Former NFL head coach Jon Gruden has spent some time reflecting lately.
He mentioned failing with Antonio Brown in Las Vegas as one of his “biggest regrets.” Now, it’s time for some intel on Keyshawn Johnson, who played for Gruden’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2000 to 2003. That is, until the Bucs deactivated him after 10 games and traded him to the Dallas Cowboys.
Gruden Highlights Tension With Keyshawn Johnson in TB
Speaking on the matter over 20 later, Gruden appeared on the “Not Just Football” podcast with Cam Heyward and revealed what really went wrong with his star receiver in Tampa Bay.
“Keyshawn, he’s got a lot of confidence in his ability,” Gruden said, looking back. “We just kind of got sideways.
“There were some issues I think that we needed to resolve and handle from a disciplinary standpoint and that’s what we did. We traded him to the Cowboys; got Joey Galloway in return. Not every relationship is perfect. Unfortunately, I don’t think he probably enjoyed playing for me as much as he did some other coaches. And I’m not sure I enjoyed coaching him as much as some other guys enjoyed coaching him, but he was a heck of a talent.”
Gruden sounded like he had no regrets over how the situation ended with Johnson. He then went on to rave about how Galloway became the first Buccaneers receiver to record three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons.
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As noted, ultimately, both sides got what they wanted. Yet one still wonders how the 2003 season could have gone differently had Johnson and Gruden been able to see eye to eye.
Deactivated after 10 games, the Bucs went just 3-3 without their Pro Bowl receiver, missing the playoffs with a 7-9 record.
Brad Johnson led the NFL with 570 passing attempts. It may have been beneficial if a good chunk of those targets went in Johnson’s direction rather than targeting running back Michael Pittman a career-high 120 times.
Nevertheless, we’ll never know how Gruden’s tenure with the Buccaneers could have aged differently. He did manage to win a Super Bowl in 2002, but missing the postseason the next year was a rough fall from grace, one that his Bucs never fully recovered from.
Gruden would go on to have one more double-digit win season in Tampa Bay, and his teams made the playoffs two more times. But after lifting the Lombardi, they never won another playoff game under Gruden’s guidance.
That, undoubtedly, has to eat at him, even if the Johnson-Galloway swap may have worked out in the Bucs’ favor, according to Gruden.
