Former NFL head coach Jon Gruden has long been connected to the Tennessee Vols due to his two-year stint as a graduate assistant in Knoxville under Johnny Majors in the 1980s.
It was during that two-year stint that Gruden met his wife, Cindy, a former cheerleader at Tennessee.
Thanks to those connections, Gruden was a popular name during Tennessee's coaching searches in 2012 and 2017. The "Grumors" grew loud during both searches, though Gruden never became a serious factor in either search.
Gruden continues to keep up with the Vols and he pops up at games in Knoxville from time to time.
This past season, Gruden attended Tennessee's game against UConn. And he watched the matchup with former Vols quarterback Heath Shuler.
Shuler, who briefly played under Gruden with the Oakland Raiders in 1999, told Off the Hook Sports this week that Gruden is a big fan of what the Vols are doing offensively under Josh Heupel.
"I relate it (the QB in Tennessee's offense) to kind of the point guard on a fast break, you gotta make a decision very fast," said Shuler while discussing Heupel's offense. "It reminds me of the west coast system -- that you're not holding the ball in the pocket, so it lessons the the ability to take a sack. And then you kind of take that chance downfield.
"So it reminds me a lot of that. I had that experience with Jon Gruden. And Jon and I got to watch the game -- he was at the Tennessee game this year and so he and I got to sit and watch the game this past year, the homecoming game. And it was pretty cool to be able to sit there with my former coach with the Raiders and get to talk about the offense. And he absolutely loves Heupel's offense and what he's able to do and how he spreads the ball all over the field."
Gruden is known for his complicated offenses that are incredibly difficult for young quarterbacks to pick up (just ask Chris Simms, the brother of former Vols quarterback Matt Simms). So it's a bit surprising that he's a fan of an offense that has a reputation for being "simple". Then again, scoring points is scoring points -- it doesn't really matter how difficult the offense is or isn't if it's efficient.
Shuler, by the way, has some unique insight when it comes to Heupel's offense since his son, Navy (also a quarterback), is entering his third season in Tennessee's offense.
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