Jay Gruden, Former NFL Head Coach

Hey, everyone. You've probably heard us talking about Magnificent Jerk. It's a story about discovering family secrets buried in a low-budget 90s thriller starring Rob Lowe and Ice-T. Magnificent Jerk takes you on a journey through Chinatown gangs, drug robberies, Hollywood reinvention, and a family confronting its unspoken past.

It's the true story about a fake story about a real life. Magnificent Jerk is an Apple Original Podcast produced by Pineapple Street Studios. All episodes are available now. Follow and listen on Apple Podcasts. But let's go out to the guest line right now and welcome in the former NFL head coach. And that, of course, is Jay Gruden, kind enough to join us on the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio. Coach, always great to hear your voice.

Thanks for the time. How you been? I've been good.

Thanks for having me on. Playing a little bit of golf. How's your golf game these days, just wondering? You know, same.

Can't putt, but I like to hit it around. So if you had Jay Gruden going up against John Gruden in a match, 18 holes, who wins? You? Jay. Jay. Jay always wins. Not even close. Now, he's getting a lot better now that he's had some time off, too. But it's getting closer, but I think I could take him.

All right. Let me start you off in a somber note. One of your former players, Kirk Cousins, done for the season with the torn Achilles.

When you saw that news yesterday, just how did you react to it? Devastated. You know, he's been so durable throughout his career. He's always available, and this is a very unique thing for Kirk Cousins. I can count on my hand as many times he's been on the injury report with me.

He never was injured. He's always played through any issues he ever had, and this is a tough deal for the Minnesota Vikings, but especially tough for Kirk, because he's having a heck of a year. At 35 years old, now suffering a major injury contract up at the end of the year, what do you think the NFL future is for Kirk Cousins?

The future's bright still. Kirk will come back and rehab like a stud, like he always does. He'll work extremely hard.

He'll get himself ready. His arm has not lost any zip whatsoever. He's never been a very mobile quarterback anyway. Doesn't do a lot of all-schedule plays.

He's more of a timing rhythm. Dissect the defense and get the ball out. He'll still be able to do that at a high level.

Yeah, I'll be curious what the market looks like. Now, it's still really early in the season. I know the Niners have lost three in a row. When I'm watching that yesterday, knowing Kirk's 35 contracts up with the Vikings, I'm thinking to myself, if things don't go well for the 49ers, wouldn't surprise me if he reunites with Kyle Shanahan next year?

Would not surprise me one bit. I know Brock Purdy's a heck of a quarterback and had a heck of a start to his season for a young guy, but Kirk's got a little bit more experience and they have a track record with Shanahan and Kirk. Would not surprise me, but Purdy's pretty dang good. When you look at the 49ers, is it just as simple as the last few weeks? The injuries have caught up to them and that's why you've seen this team lose three games in a row?

No, no injuries on defense. I'm surprised that the defense has taken a major step back last three weeks, in my opinion. They're not rushing the passer with the same vigor as they had the first few weeks. I think 49ers have to play with the lead so they can get their pass rush uncorked and their play actions and their running game offensively can be effective. They're not a very good come-from-behind team, so they need to start fast, play with the lead, and let Brock Purdy hand the ball off and do his play actions, which he's really good at. Talking to Jay Gruden right now on the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio, I look at Kansas City. It's tough to be concerned with them and they only have two losses on the season. We know as long as 15 and 87 are healthy, they're going to be a tough team to beat in January, but that offense, when I watch it this year, they don't look like they've been clicking with the way that we've seen Kansas City the last few seasons.

When you watch the Chiefs, what are you seeing from your coaching view? Well, I think somebody has to step up other than 87. Like you said, Kelcey's obviously a heck of a player. There's no doubt about it, but there's only so many balls that he can catch. I mean, he can catch eight or nine, but somebody else has to step up and right now nobody's doing that. Last year it was Jerick McKinnon out of the backfield. They got to get Pacheco going in the running game, but Sky Moore, one of these receivers, has got to step up and be a solid number two or number three option for Patrick moving forward because teams will be smart enough to try to do the best they can to take away Travis.

They're going to have to find some other way to get the ball down the field to somebody else. When you evaluate the AFC, do you still view them as the best team in the AFC or do you go somewhere else? I always go with the best quarterback in the AFC and that's Mahomes and I go the best defense and that's Kansas City. So right now with the defense playing the way they're playing and obviously Patrick and Kelcey, I still give it to them, but there is a small, there is a team that's creeping up the ladder with Joe Burrow getting healthy. They're starting to click.

You can see it. Joe's confidence. He had two scrambles last week for about 25-30 yards. When he can move in the pocket like that and then utilize all his weapons and Joe Mixon gets going and the defense is playing extremely well, they're going to be a tough out as well. And it's amazing how quickly we change in the NFL.

They go off to that one and three start, Jay, and now they're sitting there four and three. They just walked into Santa Clara and the Bengals easily took care of the San Francisco 49ers. Kind of crazy now where a few weeks ago people are writing the obituary for the Bengals and now we're talking about them right back into Super Bowl form.

Yeah, I was one of them too. I didn't like anything they were doing on offense whatsoever and their defense was playing okay, but offensively you throw for 80 yards week one with Joe Burrow and the cast that they have. Yeah, I mean there's some questions to be answered, but you also have to talk about Baltimore for sure. Baltimore's defense is playing an extreme high level.

Lamar Jackson has taken this offense at like it's like he's been playing it forever and Todd Munkin's done a heck of a job and they're also going to be a force. It's gonna be fun to watch the AFC how it turns out in Buffalo, of course, Miami. So there's the AFC's loaded.

It's going to be an exciting playoff series, but it seems like from your answer, right? Chiefs and Bengals would be your two best teams in the AFC. Who would be that that other team?

I know you just listed a few, but who would be the team that you gravitate towards to make the top three teams in the AFC? Well, the way Miami's playing, you have to look at Miami, the speed of Tyree kill, you know, when it gets colder, maybe harder to throw the ball. Maybe that'll be an issue for them moving forward, but their defense is playing better. They got Jalen Ramsey back. Nick Fangio does a very good job playing as different coverage zones and, and Jalen Ramsey picks, uh, fits that system perfectly. So their defense is going to get stronger.

I just worry about it. Maybe possibly playing in cold weather places like Buffalo or whatever in the playoffs or Kansas city or even Cincinnati, but they're, they're obviously a tough team to beat as well. And it's amazing. 94 days ago, you have the meniscus injury with Ramsey. He comes back quicker than anyone could have expected. Like you said, Jay Gruden had the interception in their win over new England. Looking at their offense though, it starts with Tyree kill. I know Tua has been sensational, but we're eight games into the season. Tyree kill already has over a thousand yards. I thought he was a little bit crazy before the start of the season coach, when he was talking about 2000 yards, just cause there's so many mouths to feed in Miami. But right now I think he's the MVP of the NFL. I know that the awards usually a quarterback award, but I think there's a big case to be made for Tyree kill to win the MVP. I agree. I think AJ Brown's in that mix too.

I think you could flip a coin with those two guys. AJ Brown's had over 120 yards, six games in a row, something insane like that, but those two guys dominate the game. And, and, uh, you know, they're going to get the ball and they still get it.

You still can't take it away. Try to play in and out. You try to play over the top. They split coverage.

They run over the top of things. They're both amazing players. It wouldn't surprise me at all if Tyree or AJ Brown got MVP. I know you, uh, you coaches, you never like your teams to get too high. The Eagles are seven and one, but I think the best thing for Nick Sirianni is I don't even think they played their best brand of football and even saw it yesterday. They could play better and it was still good enough to find the way to beat the commanders. Yeah. They scored 38 points.

I believe it was. And they fumbled twice inside the five yard line. That's pretty impressive. That doesn't happen very often. I mean, their offense is clicking and Jalen didn't even use his legs.

He only had six yards rushing. So for him to be able to beat you like that with his arm only is impressive for a defensive move before to try to defend Philadelphia. It's a problem. Uh, and defensively, they got to pick it up. They got to get their secondary stable, uh, stabilized. They've had like six or seven different, uh, rotations, uh, moving in the last seven weeks.

So they got to get it stabilized, but they'll be fine. Their pass rush will get going. And, uh, Philadelphia is by far, not by far, but I think one of the top two teams in the NFC and with the way that the commanders on the flip side aren't performing well, new ownership coming in. I think we're all expecting Ron Rivera at the end of the season to unfortunately lose his job and name I've been throwing out there has been Jim Harbaugh, especially what's going on, uh, with Michigan right now and possible sanctions coming. Who knows if the NFL would punish him as well.

There's one report over the weekend. Could you see Harbaugh jumping back to the NFL? And do you think the commanders would be a good fit? I just see him jumping back in the NFL, but I don't know if he'd be a good fit or not. I think, uh, they need to go elsewhere personally, but you know, I think Ron still got a lot of season left. They have a very young quarterback, Eric B enemy and Sam Howell working a little bit better. They had a much better outing this week than they did last week against a giant. So as long as they keep showing progress, Jack Del Rio has got to get that defense playing better. If they can make a run here late in the season, you know, my second year I was about to get fired.

We were three and five. I think it was, we won six or seven games in a row and made it to the playoffs. So there's still a lot of football left, uh, but they do have to perform better as far as the replacement.

Who knows? And you know what it's like to be in a toxic situation and have all the people talking about your future and then maybe problems going on in the locker room as well. Uh, let me ask you about the Raiders. There was a report last week that they had this team meeting and they had some airing of grievances, not an easy matchup tonight for the Raiders going up against the lions, but what do you look for, uh, from the Raiders tonight was so much going on inside that locker room, or it seems like there's a lot of frustration with a lot of players in the coach Josh McDaniel. That's usually the case when your team's not winning. I think if you just go pull every team that's losing right now with the losing record, there's frustration.

You saw Jonathan Allen with Washington last week, and there's a lot of things like that. You know, it's good to get it off your chest and air out your issues, but you got to come out and play each unit has to do their job. It's going to be good that they get Jimmy G back. That'll be a huge help for them. I wouldn't, it wouldn't surprise me if they come out and play very hard, but they have a long way to go defensively. They struggled mightily against the bears last week. They couldn't tackle. They weren't running to the ball, but you know, this is a different week.

The NFL knows it's a one week league, one day at a time league, and you never know what Raider teams are going to show up. Wrapping up with coach Jay Gruden right now in the Zach Geld show. I love what I saw yesterday from Will Levis and it was impossible to not feel great for him, especially getting embarrassed on draft night in the green room, falling out of the first round, eventually lands 33rd overall with Tennessee, but to throw four touchdown passes yesterday.

Yeah, sure. It helps when you have Deandre Hopkins with someone still got to deliver the football. That was pretty impressive by the Tennessee quarterback. Incredible for your first game to come out and just air it out like that. That's kind of been his M.O.

He's always, everybody knows he's got that big strong arm can move around a little bit, but to see him do it and have the success in his first game, that's impressive. Now he's got to go out and do it again next week because you know, how the NFL is. If you go out next week and have a horrible game, they're going to get on you.

No doubt about it. Since you were with the Rams last year as a consultant, that team has not bounced back this season. There was concerns of how good they could be.

Puka Nakua is having a great season. Now Stafford's dealing with that thumb injury. Where's the confidence level, someone that you know very well in Sean McVay to eventually get this ship moving back in the right direction with the LA Rams? Well, they have to obviously have some drafts and get some players in the draft. They haven't had a good draft pick in a while and that hurts your team. They, you know, they went out and traded for Stafford. They went out and traded for Jalen Ramsey who they had to get rid of and Aaron Donald's got a huge contract, obviously Cooper Cup. They have to get some more players around Matthew Stafford, Cooper Cup and obviously Aaron Donald. Right now they just don't have the bodies, the pro NFL caliber bodies across the board right now.

It'll come. It'll take a couple years, get some young guys a little bit more experience. Hopefully Stafford gets healthy, get Cooper back to his hundred percent.

Puka is a great addition for them, but they have some holes that they need to fill and fill them fast. Last thing I want to ask you, just because I read this story a few weeks ago, there's been speculation about the Steelers offensive coordinator and one writer suggested that maybe your brother would take over if Mike Tomlin fired Mac Canada. Could you see your brother making a return to the NFL and being an offensive coordinator? Because when I saw that a few weeks ago, Jay, I'm like, I can't see John Gruden not being a head coach. Yeah, no, I think that's pretty much speculation right there.

That's one of those reporters who wanted to get more Twitter followers or something. That's not going to happen right now. John's doing his own thing right now. He's got his own personal issues he's dealing with right now at the league. And I'm sure once they get taken care of, he'll come and come in smoking somewhere. But I would seriously doubt it'd be offensive coordinator.

And then one more quickie here. When you get to Derek Carr, who he's worked with still works with the nose very well. Saints have been up and down, but now they're 500. Do you think they'll find a way to win the NFC South? Did you look at another team to emerge from that division? Wide open, right?

I mean, who else is there? Tampa Bay, Atlanta, Carolina. I mean, it's wide open. I think the NFC South should go through New Orleans because of Derek Carr's experience and presence. Once he gets the young receivers doing what they're supposed to do, he gets on the same page with Michael Thomas, getting Alvin Kamara back.

More consistent basis will help a lot. And they do have a good defense. So I definitely think New Orleans Saints wins that division come the end of the year. Well, Jay, hit him straight. Always appreciate it when you jump on board with us. Thank you. I appreciate it. Thanks for having me on. There you go. Coach Jay Gruden with us on the Zach Gelb show on CBS Sports Radio.