Ex-NFL head coach receives gift box full of Houston paraphernalia

On the day before Houston’s Final Four game with Duke, the Cougars may have gained a celebrity fan.

Former NFL head coach Jon Gruden, who coached the Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers and is currently employed by Barstool Sports, received a huge box full of Houston gear and showed it on his X page Friday.

The box contained several articles of clothing, including a hoodie in the Cougars’ alternative color known as Houston Blue, the same shade of blue worn by the former Houston Oilers, as well as caps, T-shirts and a polo shirt with various Houston logos on them. Gruden also received a white football helmet with the Houston script logo.

“This box here, you can tell it comes from the state of Texas,” Gruden said. “The Houston Cougars. How bout them Coogs, man? Final Four.”

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Gruden goes on to mention several current members of Houston’s basketball team like LJ Cryer, J’Wan Roberts, Emanuel Sharp and Joseph Tugler.

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The box came from a Houston supporter named Andrew Johnson, who had been a fan of Gruden going back to his days with the Buccaneers, including winning Super Bowl XXXVII in the 2002-03 season.

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Also, while taking out the items in the box, Gruden invokes names of past Houston football and basketball players and coaches.

Among those mentioned are ex-football coaches Bill Yeoman and John Jenkins, former legendary basketball coach Guy V. Lewis, former Cougar football stars Danny Davis, Robert Newhouse, Ed Oliver, Andre Ware and David Klingler, and former Cougar basketball standouts Elvin Hayes, Otis Birdsong, Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, whom Gruden said was his favorite Cougar player.

"My favorite Houston Cougar of all-time, Clyde Drexler,” Gruden said. “God, I wish I was Clyde Drexler.”

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Gruden also mentioned Houston’s current football coach, Willie Fritz, and believes that Fritz is eventually going to get the Cougars turned around.

“They’ve got a great new head football coach,” Gruden said of Fritz, who will be entering his second season at Houston. “I met him when I was at the (New Orleans) Saints’ camp, he comes from Tulane; Willie Fritz, man. He’s going to get this program rolling.

“Houston is where they invent football; I mean the outside veer (the offense popularized by Yeoman) and the run and shoot (the offense favored by Jenkins and former coach Jack Pardee).”

Gruden also name-drops Houston basketball coach Kelvin Sampson - although the ex-NFL coach pronounced Sampson’s first name as Kevin. Uh oh, Coach Gruden, you might want to check out this press conference clip of Sampson from a couple of weeks ago.

Do NOT mispronounce Gonzaga in front of KeLvin Sampson pic.twitter.com/5040iiQ7qD
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 21, 2025

Then, Gruden ends his video by wearing the Houston blue hoodie. He also wishes the Cougar basketball team luck in Saturday night's Final Four game against Duke.

“Better watch out, Duke; going to be a helluva game, man,” Gruden said.

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“Thank you so much, Coogs. Good luck, and I’ll be watching. Go get them; go get this championship, man.”