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<\/a><\/p>\nJon Gruden appears to know more about the BC Lions than the average fan. (Orlando Ramirez\/Imagn Images)<\/p>\n
Gruden apparently has been following two Lions, who were also former players of his during his time as head coach of the Oakland Raiders.<\/p>\n
\u201cAsk me who their leading rusher is\u2026James Butler. He had about 1,200 rushing yards.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAsk me who\u2019s their leading receiver\u2026Keon Hatcher, man. Arkansas. 1,700 yards, he wears No. 4. I love the freaking BC Lions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gruden, who won a Super Bowl in 2002 as head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, also shouted out a couple of Lions players on defence.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey got a D-lineman named Mathieu Betts,\u201d he said. \u201cHe had 18 sacks in 2023. Comes back last year and has 15 more sacks. Wears No. 90. Badass.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember Brett Johnson played there. They also got Jonah Tavai, he\u2019s got about five sacks [last year].\u201d<\/p>\n
Perhaps the most impressive part of Gruden\u2019s spiel was that he opened up like an encyclopedia of Lions\u2019 knowledge throughout the clip.<\/p>\n
His intel on the team went back to their inception, when he shouted out quarterback Joe Kapp, the first QB to lead the Lions to a Grey Cup. Gruden also acknowledged \u201cWillie the Wisp,\u201d also known as running back William Fleming, another member of the Lions\u2019 first Grey Cup-winning squad in 1964. That win occurred one year after Gruden was born.<\/p>\n
He shouted out legendary CFL coach Hugh Campbell, whose son, Rick, coached the Lions until 2024.<\/p>\n
Gruden also revealed that one of his favourite players was a BC Lions offensive lineman.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy favourite player as a kid growing up was Al \u2018Dirt\u2019 Wilson,\u201d Gruden said. \u201cHe missed zero games. I mean, this guy would play for nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey also had Damon Allen, one of the all-time Canadian badasses,\u201d Gruden said. \u201cAsk me who his brother is\u2026Marcus Allen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey used to have a kicker named Lui Passaglia. He scored 4,000 points. I swear to God, he kicked forever, man. He still could kick.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pretty impressive stat pull on Passaglia, who finished his CFL career with 3,991 points. Passaglia played for the Lions from 1976 to 2000.<\/p>\n
Gruden also admitted he tried to recruit one of the best receivers in Lions history.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was a young coach, they used to have this receiver called Geroy Simon,\u201d Gruden said. \u201cHe wore No. 81. Man, that guy was a great player. He played at Maryland. I always wanted him, but he stayed out there in Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gruden then gave a synopsis of the Lions heading into this season, speaking as if he were a part of the team.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe did lose our leading tackler, our linebacker [Micah Awe], but we went out and got Darell Sankey, didn\u2019t we, from the Montreal Alouettes to be our middle linebacker.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe lost Robert Carter, who got five picks last year,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo who\u2019s it gonna be in the secondary? Is it gonna be TJ Lee? Is it gonna be Ronald Kent? Is it gonna be Jackson Finley? Who\u2019s gonna step up in this Lions secondary?\u201d<\/p>\n
Gruden admitted that he\u2019s never been to BC, but perhaps that will change soon.<\/p>\n
\u201cMan, I gotta get out there and watch these guys play,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019ve got a history of badasses out there in BC.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSix Grey Cups\u202613 titles in the division.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re out there in BC, get a ticket, go support the Lions.\u201d<\/p>\n