Biography of Jon Gruden[Ade, Height, Family, Wife & Kids]

Jon Gruden is back as the Oakland Raiders‘ head coach, bringing back one of the Silver and Black’s most respected and accomplished coaches in the storied past.

Gruden, who was first named the Raiders’ head coach 20 years ago, worked with the Raiders for four seasons from 1998 to 2001.

Jon smiling

At age 34, Gruden, the youngest head coach in the NFL on his initial hiring by Raiders owner Al Davis in 1998, posted a 38-26 (.594) record and led the Silver and Black to back-to-back AFC West titles in 2000 and 2001.

Keep up with the article to learn more about this accomplished coach. Firstly, take a look at the undermentioned quick facts on Joe.

Jon Gruden: Quick Facts

Jon Gruden: Early Life, Education

Gruden was born into a family of Slovenian descent on 17 August 1963 in Sandusky, Ohio. His father, Jim, later worked as a professional regional football scout, quarterbacks coach, and player staff director for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Jon’s father, Jay, however, played and coached at the Arena Football League, and most recently became head coach of the Washington Redskins. To our surprise, his brother, James, is a Weill Cornell Medicine Radiologist.

Jon On the field

Gruden was raised as Roman Catholic and was a growing fan of the Cleveland Browns. He attended Clay High School at the age of 15 in South Bend, Indiana, home of Notre Dame University, where his father also worked as an assistant to head coach Dan Devine.

Jon graduated in 1981 and attended Muskingum College in New Concord, Ohio. At Dayton, under coach Mike Kelly, he was a three-year letterman and backup quarterback for the Flyers.

Joe Gruden: Age, Height & Body Measurements

A tall white man with a height of 1.78 m and a 91 kg weight, Jon is well-built and has a dashing personality. Since he is a coach, there is no doubt that he cares for his physical well-being and seems to possess an athletic build.

Jon Gruden: Relationships & Marriage

The Oakland Raiders’ head coach is a married man. He, as of now, has tied the knot to Cindy Brooks. Added to that, Gruden shares three children with her.

Gruden is living a blessed and committed marital life with spouse Cindy. His wife had previously served in the National Cheerleader Association as the head coach.

She is a philanthropist who supports various causes alongside her husband and organizes activities for the purposes.

How Did They Meet?

The young couple met during their college years and immediately fell in love, according to sources. There are just surprisingly few cases where you get married to college lovers who become a major star.

The proposal was as cute as was their friendship. Gruden purchased a ring worth $1,800, which completely mesmerized his soon-to-be wife. In fact, he did not want to spare any expense when it came to proposing and wanted to splurge it all on his future wife.

Conditions Put Forward By Jon

Also, though they were still in a relationship, Gruden had made it clear that once he could get a full-time job as a coach at a university, he would not marry her. As he said, he invested all the money in his bank account, buying her a ring when he got the work.

Fast forward to their wedding, on 6 July 1991, they tied the knot, and it has been more than twenty-six years since that time.

Given the more than two-decades-long union, what makes fans fall in love with the couple, even more is the fantastic fact that there is no controversy surrounding their relationship.

Jon Gruden: Children

Both Gruden and Brooks have three children together. Their first child, Deuce Gruden, was born on 19 January 1994. Unlike his father, Deuce took a different direction,  and even participated in the Minsk World Classic Powerlifting Championships of the International Powerlifting Federation.

They share two other sons whose names are Michael Gruden and Jayson Gruden, but their birth date is unknown.

Jon’s wife with Children

In 2018, the father shared, “My middle son, Michael, who’s going to be a freshman in Tennessee this fall, and then my youngest son, Jayson, was in the quarterback camp.” The family is happy and without any sign of controversies. Jon and his wife, along with the children, are making a great life and seem happy.

Jon Gruden: Career

Gruden has an enormous long career. Here we will be talking in timelines and about Jon’s career as a coach and a broadcaster. Let us start with his college coaching career.

Jon Gruden’s Coaching Background

After Jon graduated from the University of Dayton, Gruden was hired as a graduate assistant coach at the University of Tennessee during the 1985–86 season. After his tenure with the Volunteers, he spent two years as a quarterback coach in Southeast Missouri State.

In 1989, Gruden transferred to the Pacific University as an offensive assistant as a tight-end coach. At Tennessee, Gruden was one of his graduate assistant coaches, Walt Harris was the offensive coordinator and later hired him at Pacific.

In 1990, Gruden was a special assistant to the San Francisco 49ers under quarterback coach Mike Holmgren. In March 1991, Gruden became a big receiver coach for the University of Pittsburgh under head coach Paul Hackett.

Professional Coaching

At the age of 28, in January 1992, Gruden was hired by Mike Holmgren, his former San Francisco 49ers boss, to be the Green Bay Packers’ outstanding offensive assistant/wide receiver coach.

With the Oakland Raiders

Under Gruden, the Raiders posted an impressive consecutive 8–8 seasons in 1998 and 1999 and leaped out of the AFC West’s last place. However, Oakland finished 12–4 in the 2000 season, the team’s most successful season in a decade and its first division title since 1990.

The Raiders made the playoffs in three consecutive seasons from 2000 to 2002 but were defeated by the eventual Super Bowl champions New England Patriots in 2001.

Gruden was given his nickname “Chucky” from Raiders defensive lineman Grady Jackson, who thought that the coach looked like the fictional character ‘Chucky’ in the 1988 slasher movie Child’s Play.

Celebrating On the field

Jon became the Philadelphia Eagles’ offensive coordinator under former Packers assistant coach Ray Rhodes after three seasons in Green Bay. Gruden was then selected by the Oakland Raiders’ owner and general manager, Al Davis, to be the Raiders’ new head coach out of nowhere for the 1998 season.

The Youngest Head Coach

At the age of 39, the victory made Gruden the youngest head coach to win the Super Bowl. For the 2002 season, Gruden’s slogan was “Pound the Rock,” a nod to the running game dedication.

The squad was decimated by injuries, including several Super Bowl stars like; Greg Spires, Joe Jurevicius, Shelton Quarles, Brian Kelly, which resulted in enmity between veterans.

However, the Buccaneers finished 7–9 in 2003 and 5–11 in 2004 to become the first team to have consecutive losing seasons since winning Super Bowl XXXVII. The team’s final victory in Super Bowl XLIII was over the Indianapolis Colts, 38–35, on Monday Night Football.

Post-Tempa Bay Career

Jon Gruden was a volunteer assistant offensive line coach at Carrollwood Day School in Tampa, Florida. In 2010, Gruden created the Fired Football Coaches Association. The organization had its headquarters in a rented office in a Tampa strip mall.

Although many coaches such as Chip Kelly, Urban Meyer, Jim Haslett, Rick Venturi, Sean McVay, Greg Schiano, and Monte Kiffin came to watch the film and talk with Gruden, Gruden closed the FFCA upon his return to coaching in 2018.

Oakland / Las Vegas Raiders

Even after nine years away from coaching in the NFL, the Raiders announced Gruden’s return as head coach on 6 January 2018. Gruden signed a 10-year, $100 million contract, one of the most significant agreements in the league’s history. The team would go 4-12 in his first year back with the team.

On-field Hype

Due to an unbreakable and robust rookie class showing, Gruden led the Raiders to a 6-4 record. However, after many crucial players suffered injuries, the team would end their last season in Oakland 1-5 and 7-9.

The contract includes a no-trade clause making it a compact deal, closing the loophole, and creating no chances that saw the Raiders trade him to the Buccaneers in return for draft picks and cash.

Jon Gruden: Broadcasting Career

In May 2009, ESPN hired Gruden to work as a color analyst on its telecasts for Monday Night Football. He has also called for ESPN college soccer games, including the 2010 Rose Bowl and 2010 BCS National Championship Game.

In September 2012, Gruden signed a contract extension with ESPN, which extended his contract until 2021. The AFC Wild Card game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tennessee Titans and in 2017 was his last game for ESPN.

Jon opted to return to the coaching ranks for the 2018 NFL season with the Raiders and retired from ESPN after the 2017 season. He is ESPN’s highest-paid person, with an annual salary of $9 million.

Additionally, Jon Gruden is back with the Raiders and he even stated that he had never thought of leaving Raiders at first. According to the sources, Gruden signed a ten-year deal with the Raiders which was worth $10 million.

“I never wanted to leave the Raiders. I never thought I’d be back. But here I am and I’m ready to get to work. And I love the Raiders. The brand is global. Everywhere I went as a Monday Night Football analyst, the Raider nation would come out of the ground.”

Besides, when Gruden signed a contract with the team for ten years, he also states that he wouldn’t take money if he won’t be able to get things done. However, he didn’t elaborate on what ‘things’ he meant.

Altogether, by the end of his ten-year contract, Gruden will make a total of $100 million.

Jon Gruden: Hard Knocks

Gruden features in HBO’s Hard Knock show, where he featured in the 2019 editions. As they premiered the show in August, they portrayed its finale in September.

Initially, he commenced the first episode’s introduction with a speech for the rookies. Right then, he stated that he was more into nightmares instead of dreams. Additionally, he also shared his collegiate days.

The second episode was followed by a short game description and his real self as a coach. Likewise, Gruden was alongside Frank Caliendo in the third episode. As Frank performed Gruden’s impression in the training facility, the episode was all filled with laughter.

Of course, his own impression coming from Frank Caliendo also tore him out a bit as he let out a chuckle.

Moving on to the next episode, Gruden performed and worked as an athlete himself. He also chased Derek Carr at a full speed. By the end of episode five, the season’s finale, Gruden was getting emotional.

In the meantime, Gruden also commented about Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith and showed a great deal of athleticism.

Jon Gruden: Net Worth & Salary

As of 2022, Jon Gruden, including all of his assets and earnings, has an approximate net worth of $25 million. Gruden has been reported to earn a $6.5 million annual salary for his work as an ESPN color analyst for Monday Night Football.

On 6 January 2018, the Raiders announced Gruden’s return as head coach. The 10-year, $100 million contracts are among the most valuable deals in the sport’s history.

View of Jon’s house from above

Since his annual earnings are millions, Jon lives a comfortable life, allowing him to truly enjoy his life. Well, he’s got some properties, including cars and homes, worth about $10 million in total.

Jon Gruden: Social Media Presence

Jon doesn’t seem to be active on social media. He has many accounts with his names, but we don’t think those are Jon’s account. Instead, they are fan pages operated by some fans. If we get any updates about his social media pages, we will be the first to update them here.

Jon Gruden: FAQs

What is Jon Gruden’s coaching record?

As a coach, Jon Gruden was the head coach for the Raiders from 1998 to 2001, where he maintained a record of 38-26. Altogether, he has maintained a record of 95-81 as a head coach, reaching the postseason five times.