Former NFL head coach Jon Gruden stepped back into the spotlight on Saturday, joining President Donald Trump’s rally in Vandalia, Ohio, to campaign for Sen. Jon Husted and remind everyone that Ohio loyalty runs deeper than a playbook.
Gruden, a Sandusky native who played quarterback at the University of Dayton, kept his reason for showing up simple. “I came back for one reason,” he told the crowd at Vandalia-Butler High School. “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!” Somebody get this man a buckeye necklace.
Super Bowl Winner Vouches for a Guy Who Intercepted 17 Passes
Gruden and Husted were teammates on Dayton’s 1985 squad, and the Super Bowl XXXVII-winning coach had nothing but praise for his old teammate’s game on and off the field. “He intercepted 17 passes on the gridiron,” Gruden said, adding that Husted’s work ethic carried straight into public life. “He will never quit on you or anybody.” High praise from a man whose own career in Tampa proved that winning is not an accident.
Gruden capped his remarks with a turnout pitch that was pure football coach. “Early voting starts Tuesday,” he said. “Get your friends and get their friends and their friends and let’s get Husted back in action!” Somewhere, a defensive coordinator is jealous of that halftime speech.
Trump, who has golfed with Gruden and called him “one of my favorite coaches in the whole world” and “a winner,” joked that he had no idea Husted had a football past until Gruden brought it up. “Nobody told me you were a great athlete,” the president said. In fairness, senators rarely lead with their interception stats on a resume. According to the Husted Senate rally coverage, the Vandalia stop is part of Trump’s pre-midterm tour that also took him to Oklahoma and Alabama this week.
Sherrod Brown’s Mobile Billboard vs. a Super Bowl Coach, Who You Got?
Husted was appointed to his Senate seat in January 2025 after Vice President JD Vance vacated it, and he now faces a close special election against former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown. Brown lost Ohio’s other Senate seat to Sen. Bernie Moreno in 2024 and is apparently back for more. His campaign responded to the Gruden-Trump rally by driving a mobile billboard around Dayton blaming Husted for higher gas prices tied to the Iran war. A mobile billboard. Against a Super Bowl champion. Bold strategy.
Republican gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy also addressed the crowd. He faces Democrat Amy Acton, Ohio’s former health director, in the governor’s race. As for Gruden, the rally marked a rare foray into electoral politics since he resigned as Las Vegas Raiders coach in October 2021. He later sued the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell, alleging the league leaked his private emails to force him out. The league denies it, and a jury trial is set for May 2027 in Las Vegas.
Early voting in Ohio kicks off Tuesday, and if Gruden’s track record of motivating players is any guide, Husted’s ground game just got a serious upgrade. The man did win a Super Bowl, after all.
