Former NFL head coach Jon Gruden has frequently made his fondness towards the University of Tennessee felt over the last year since re-joining the public eye as a Barstool Sports personality. But Gruden took his Vol fandom to the next level over the weekend, showing his disdain for Alabama.
Talking to star Crimson Tide receiver Ryan Williams on a FaceTime call, Gruden made his allegiance clear.
“I hate Alabama,” Gruden told Williams. “I’m a Tennessee Vol man. My wife went to Tennessee.”
A Sandusky, Ohio native, Gruden played college football at Dayton. But Gruden got his coaching career started as a graduate assistant on Johnny Majors staff at Tennessee in 1986-87. In his two years at Tennessee, Gruden met his wife. One of his three sons graduated from Tennessee.
Gruden went on to serve three stints as an NFL head coach, winning the Super Bowl in 2002 with the Tampa Bay Cubs. The veteran coach was twice a popular candidate for Tennessee football’s head coaching vacancies while he was serving as the color commentator on ESPN’s Monday Night Football.
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Alabama’s Ryan Williams was one of the SEC’s top receivers in his true freshman season, but the Crimson Tide posted just a 9-3 record with a loss against Tennessee.
Williams caught eight passes for 63 yards and a touchdown in the matchup at Neyland Stadium back in October. But those eight catches came on 20 targets. Star Tennessee corner Jermod McCoy intercepted a goal line fade intended for Williams and returned it over 50 yards in a game changing first half play.
The star receiver and the Crimson Tide are looking for revenge on Oct. 18 when Alabama hosts Tennessee at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
“Y’all come to us this year,” Williams said to Gruden. “Just remember that.”
Tennessee has won two of its last three matchups against Alabama but hasn’t defeated the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa since 2003. As the Vols look to make it back to the College Football Playoffs, a win over their oldest rival would go an extremely long way.
One Response
The Tampa Bay CUBS???? Did the person writing this article actually KNOW sports? Do you have copy editors who read these before they are published for accuracy? It’s one thing to make a typo but you can’t even get the name of a Super Bowl winning NFL team correctly!