Louisville football: The 50 greatest Cardinals of all time

Jay Gruden has perhaps become more well-known for his career as an NFL assistant and head coach. But before his professional career and before he became a four-time ArenaBowl Champion, he was one of the greatest quarterbacks in Louisville football history.

Perhaps what made Gruden’s career so great was that he started from his first game with new head coach Howard Schnellenberger on teams that were largely unsuccessful for three years.

Under Schnellenberger, Gruden and the Cards went 2-9, 3-8 and 3-7-1 before finally breaking through in Gruden’s senior season where they went 8-3 and had one of the most successful seasons in school history.

Gruden was a stat sheet stuffer. To this day, he is in the top five in school history in nearly every passing category. His career ended with him throwing for 7,024 passing yards and 44 total touchdowns.

Since leaving Louisville, aside from being rumored as the future head coach of the Cardinals every time there’s a coaching change, Gruden has had a highly successful playing and coaching career.

Gruden’s NFL career took off as an offensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals before he accepted the head coaching position with the Washington Redskins. He has led the Redskins to two winning seasons and a playoff appearance in five years.

Regardless of the ultimate success of his teams, Jay Gruden remains one of Louisville football’s all-time greats. He will be remembered as the quarterback who helped lead the Cardinals into one of their best eras in program history,