One of the most anticipated moments for fans, which has become a tradition in the draft process, is the show “Gruden’s QB Class,” hosted by former NFL head coach Jon Gruden, which features quarterback prospects. In it, Gruden goes through tape with the players and conducts on-field work to share his insights and get to know them better.
In the episode featuring Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green, Gruden showed one of his most reflective and self-critical moments ever on the show, speaking about a management mistake he made that still bothers him to this day.
Jon Gruden Regrets How He Handled Randall Cunningham As a Coach
Gruden’s career in the NFL can be considered successful, after all, winning a Super Bowl is something few achieve, and the 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers team is remembered as one of the most dominant champions, even without an elite quarterback.
Gruden has always been seen as an irreverent figure in the NFL, confident in his ideas and often bringing a charismatic and sometimes exaggerated personality. But even before his success as a head coach, he spent time with several teams in coordinator roles, and it was in 1995 that his path crossed with Randall Cunningham.
As the offensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles, Gruden and Cunningham could have formed an intriguing partnership in the NFL, but according to Gruden himself, his approach was not the best, and he wasted the opportunity to make that offense work because of how he handled Cunningham.
“I got to coach Randall Cunningham, and I screwed it up,” Gruden said. “All I wanted to do is teach him the 49ers’ offense that I learned when I was there… I didn’t know the sh*t I know now. I didn’t know all the zone reads and all the stuff we could have done. I didn’t tap into any of the stuff he had. He had it all.”
Gruden joined the coaching staff of legendary figures George Seifert and Mike Holmgren in San Francisco in 1990, just after they had won the previous two Super Bowls, and he naturally tried to replicate what he had learned from that group.
He played just seven games that season, starting four, and retired the following year before returning to the NFL in 1997 to play for the Minnesota Vikings. The experience with Gruden may not have been the best, but both would go on to have their best years afterward.
Cunningham thrived with the Vikings in 1998, and Gruden became a Super Bowl-winning head coach in 2002, leaving behind that negative experience he had as an offensive coordinator while still learning to build his own system and philosophy.
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Gruden has become a staple of the draft process, sitting down with quarterbacks to break down their strengths and weaknesses. In his episode with Green, he showed a willingness to revisit the past with self-criticism, using those lessons to help young players make a smoother transition to the NFL.
According to PFSN’s CFB QB Impact, Green ranked 27th among quarterbacks in college football last season with an impact score of 84.9. On PFSN’s Big Board, he is the 10th ranked quarterback in this year’s draft class.
