On Monday night, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will make former Head Coach Jon Gruden the 11th person inducted into the team's Ring of Honor at Raymond James Stadium. Gruden, who will already be on hand to call the Buccaneers' prime-time game against Atlanta as part of ESPN's broadcast team, will come down from the television booth for a halftime ceremony on the field.
It will be a familiar environment for Gruden, who spent seven years prowling the home sideline at Raymond James Stadium. The Buccaneers' head coach from 2002-08, he led the team to two division titles, three playoff appearances and one very memorable run to a Super Bowl championship at the end of the '02 campaign.
Just about any Buccaneer fan could recite the opponent and the score of Super Bowl XXXVII. Most will likely recall that the Gruden had been the head coach of the Oakland Raiders, who lost that Super Bowl to the Buccaneers by a 48-21 score, until the Buccaneers traded for his rights during the 2002 offseason. But how many would also know that the San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles – the two teams the Bucs beat to get to the Super Bowl – had also previously employed Jon Gruden?
That's easy, you say? Well, let's make it a little harder. In honor of Jon Gruden's induction into the Buccaneers' Ring of Honor on Monday, we present a 10-part Jon Gruden Trivia Quiz. Get all 10 right and you can truly call yourself a Chucky enthusiast.
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(Note: Answers and additional information on each question can be found at the bottom of the page.)*
1. What was the first team the Buccaneers beat in the regular season with Jon Gruden as head coach?
a. Atlanta
b. Baltimore
c. Cincinnati
d. New Orleans
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2. Against which team in 2005 did Jon Gruden call for a two-point conversion at the end of regulation to win, 36-35, rather than going for the tie?
a. Carolina
b. Detroit
c. Miami
d. Washington
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3. Ronde Barber and Derrick Brooks played all 112 regular-season games during Jon Gruden's tenure (2002-08) as the Buccaneers' head coach. Which offensive player appeared in the most games under Gruden?
a. FB Mike Alstott
b. WR Joey Galloway
c. RB Michael Pittman
d. C John Wade
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4. At what college did Jon Gruden play quarterback?
a. Cincinnati
b. Dayton
c. Miami (OH)
d. Toledo
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5. Who was the first NFL head coach to hire Jon Gruden to his staff?
a. Mike Holmgren
b. Ray Rhodes
c. Andy Reid
d. George Siefert
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6. What was the combined scoring edge for Jon Gruden's 2002 Buccaneers in the team's three-game run to the Super Bowl championship?
a. 35 points
b. 48 points
c. 69 points
d. 81 points
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7. Which team did the Buccaneers beat, 17-0, on the road on Monday Night Football to start their attempted title defense in 2003?
a. Carolina
b. Chicago
c. N.Y. Giants
d. Philadelphia
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8. How many of the Bucs' 11 starters on offense in Super Bowl XXXVII were signed as free agents after Jon Gruden's arrival earlier that year?
a. Zero
b. Two
c. Five
d. Seven
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9. On January 26, 2003, Jon Gruden became the then-youngest head coach to win a Super Bowl (a mark later broken by former Gruden assistant Mike Tomlin). How old was Gruden at the time?
a. 34
b. 39
c. 42
d. 44
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10. Who was the last quarterback to start a game under Head Coach Jon Gruden?
a. Jeff Garcia
b. Brian Griese
c. Luke McCown
d. Tim Rattay
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Quiz Answers:**
1. What was the first team the Buccaneers beat in the regular season with Jon Gruden as head coach?
b. Baltimore
The 2002 season began with a wild overtime loss to New Orleans, with a botched punt in the extra period leading to a game-winning interception in the end zone. In Week Two, the Buccaneers traveled to Baltimore and blanked the Colts, 25-0, a shutout sealed by Derrick Brooks' 97-yard interception return for a touchdown.
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2. Against which team in 2005 did Jon Gruden call for a two-point conversion at the end of regulation to win, 36-35, rather than going for the tie?
d. Washington
On Nov. 13, 2005, Gruden's Buccaneers engaged in a wild shootout with the visiting Washington Redskins. With the Bucs trailing by seven and a minute left in regulation, Edell Shepherd made a dazzling, diving catch of a 30-yard Chris Simms pass as he crossed the goal line. That appeared to tie the game and likely would have forced overtime, but the extra point turned into a very dramatic scene. First, the Redskins got a defensive delay of game penalty, which Gruden elected to take on the ensuing kickoff. However, when Washington jumped offside on the extra point attempt and blocked Matt Bryant's kick, Gruden changed his mind, took the penalty to halve the distance to the goal line and sent his offense back out on the field. Gruden didn't get tricky needing one yard to win the game; rather he handed it to fullback Mike Alstott, the best goal-line threat in franchise history. Alstott used a typical second effort to just get the ball across the plane for the game-winning two-point conversion.
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3. Ronde Barber and Derrick Brooks played all 112 regular-season games during Jon Gruden's tenure (2002-08) as the Buccaneers' head coach. Which offensive player appeared in the most games under Gruden?
c. RB Michael Pittman
Pittman, the former Arizona Cardinal, was one of the many free agents that Jon Gruden lured to Tampa to add to his first offensive crew in 2002. Pittman played seven of the eight seasons that Gruden coached in Tampa, appearing in 87 games. That was the fifth-most of any Buccaneer in that span, but the top four – Ronde Barber, Derrick Brooks, Jermaine Phillips and Greg Spires – were all defensive players. After Pittman, the offensive players with the most games in that span were linemen Sean Mahan and John Wade, with 72 each. Mike Alstott had 66.
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4. At what college did Jon Gruden play quarterback?
b. Dayton
Born in Ohio, Jon Gruden went to college there, too, suiting up for three varsity seasons with the Dayton Flyers. Though he was mostly a reserve, Gruden did receive the team's Lt. Andy Zulli Memorial Award, given to the senior who best exemplifies the qualities of sportsmanship and character.
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5. Who was the first NFL head coach to hire Jon Gruden to his staff?
d. George Siefert
Mike Holmgren hired Jon Gruden to his Packers staff in 1992, and Ray Rhodes gave Gruden his first offensive coordinator position in 1995. However, it was George Siefert, then the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, who gave Gruden his first NFL job in 1990. It was there, as an offensive assistant, that Gruden made his connection with Holmgren, the offensive coordinator who would soon move on to Green Bay.
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6. What was the combined scoring edge for Jon Gruden's 2002 Buccaneers in the team's three-game run to the Super Bowl championship?
c. 69 points
On their way to hoisting the Lombardi Trophy after the 2002 season, the Buccaneers pummeled San Francisco, 31-6, turned a tightly-contested NFC Championship Game in Philadelphia into a 27-10 final and finished up with a dominant 48-21 win over Oakland in Super Bowl XXXVII. That's a total of 106 points for the Buccaneers and just 37 for their combined opponents, a difference of 69 points.
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7. Which team did Jon Gruden's Buccaneers beat, 17-0, on the road on Monday Night Football to start their attempted title defense in 2003?
d. Philadelphia
The Buccaneers "shut down the Vet" in the 2002 playoffs, defeating Philadelphia in the NFC Championship Game, the last game ever played at Veteran's Stadium. The next season, the Eagles moved into their new home, Lincoln Financial Field, and the NFL celebrated the occasion by sending the defending champions there for the traditional Week One Monday Night football game. Making the champs play on the road was decidedly not traditional, but the Buccaneers responded to that perceived slight by blanking the Eagles in their new home, 17-0. Joe Jurevicius scored both of the game's touchdown, one on a very memorable play in which he purposely tipped a ball in the air and then spun to dive and grab it before it hit the ground.
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8. How many of the Bucs' 11 starters on offense in Super Bowl XXXVII were signed as free agents after Jon Gruden's arrival earlier that year?
c. Five
Left tackle Roman Oben, left guard Kerry Jenkins, tight end Ken Dilger, wide receiver Keenan McCardell and running back Michael Pittman were all signed by Gruden's Buccaneers after his arrival early in 2002. Wide receiver Joe Jurevicius and tight end Rickey Dudley didn't start the Super Bowl but were also key 2002 additions to the offense.
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9. On January 26, 2003, Jon Gruden became the then-youngest head coach to win a Super Bowl (a mark later broken by former Gruden assistant Mike Tomlin). How old was Gruden at the time?
b. 39
Born August 17, 1963, Jon Gruden had not yet turned 40 when he helped the Buccaneers win their first Super Bowl on January 26, 2003. At the time, that made him the youngest head coach ever to do so. Mike Tomlin, the defensive backs coach on that Super Bowl team, was 36 when his Pittsburgh Steelers won Super bowl XLIII on February 1, 2009.
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10. Who was the last quarterback to start a game under Head Coach Jon Gruden?
a. Jeff Garcia
Both Jeff Garcia and Brian Griese started games for the Buccaneers in 2008, Gruden's last year at the helm, but Garcia was on the field for the season finale against Oakland. Griese's last start was in Week 15 in Atlanta.
