Jon Gruden, a Super Bowl winning football coach with a reputation for being passionate and enthusiastic as well as a genius with offensive strategies, recently spoke at a rally put together by President Donald Trump in Ohio. Gruden’s fiery spirit showed up and completely lit up the crowd who attended the event like a good old-fashioned pep rally.
A lot of folks weren’t even aware of Gruden’s politics, so it was a bit of a shock to see him at the event, let alone standing on stage alongside the president and Ohio Republican Sen. John Husted, who is currently up for re-election, and gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. Later in the event, as Trump was giving an address, a protester stood up and tried to heckle him.
He was quickly escorted out of the rally as the crowd chanted the lyrics to “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye.” Trump then told the crowd, “You know, Jon Gruden is standing here, saying, ‘I don’t believe this. This is rougher than a football game. There’s more spirit. I think they have more spirit here than they did today in Ohio State, if you want to know the truth.”
According to a report from Fox News, Gruden, who formerly coached the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a Super Bowl championship and then coached the Raiders in both Oakland and Las Vegas for 53 games before resigning in 2021. Interestingly, Gruden and Husted played together on the University of Dayton football team in 1985. The two have remained close friends ever since.
“I’ll be very brief, but I want to thank everybody for showing up,” Gruden said to the crowd as they greeted him with applause. “I love you guys. I just came back for one reason and I’m from Ohio. My mom and dad are from Cleveland. I was born in Sandusky and I went to the University of Dayton. And I’m damn proud of it, man!”
As you can imagine, the crowd ate that up and cheered super loud for Gruden. He then took an opportunity to endorse his former teammate and friend. “Jon Husted is a lot more than my friend,” Gruden went on to tell the crowd. “He was a great player.” He intercepted 17 passes on the gridiron. He was a great player. And I know why he’s a great player. It was because of his work ethic and his commitment and his day-to-day mental toughness.”
Husted has extensive credentials and experience in the realm of politics and public service. He has formerly served as an Ohio state representative, Ohio House speaker, state senator, secretary of state, lieutenant governor, and since January 2025, as a senator. Husted was also an all-American cornerback and kick returner at Dayton.
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“He will never quit, ever on you or anybody,” Gruden said into the microphone, stirring the crowd. “Let’s hear it, for Husted. Right. I’m gonna close with this … Before you know it, last thing I’m gonna say, before you know it, this election is over, yes? It’s over. But what we got to do is we got to do our part. Early voting starts Tuesday. Can we be there or not? Let’s be there! And I know you guys got a lot more friends than I do. Get your friends, and get their friends and their friends, and let’s get Husted back in action. Let’s go!”
Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video