Jon Gruden Joins Trump Rally In Ohio To Campaign For Old Teammate Jon Husted

Former NFL head coach Jon Gruden spoke at President Donald Trump’s rally in Vandalia, Ohio, on Saturday, urging voters to back Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH).

Gruden was born in Sandusky and played quarterback at the University of Dayton. He told the crowd at Vandalia-Butler High School that his home state was what brought him there.

“I came back for one reason,” Gruden said. “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!”

Gruden won Super Bowl XXXVII with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He and Husted played together on Dayton’s 1985 team. Gruden described the senator as a skilled defender — “He intercepted 17 passes on the gridiron” — and said Husted’s work ethic carried over into public life. “He will never quit on you or anybody,” Gruden said.

He then made a pitch for turnout. “Early voting starts Tuesday,” Gruden said. “Get your friends and get their friends and their friends and let’s get Husted back in action!”

Trump has golfed with Gruden and called him “one of my favorite coaches in the whole world.” He also called him “a winner.” Trump joked that he hadn’t known about Husted’s football career until Gruden brought it up. “Nobody told me you were a great athlete,” the president said.

The stop was part of Trump’s pre-midterm tour, which has taken him to Oklahoma and Alabama this week. Republican gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy also spoke. He faces Democrat Amy Acton, Ohio’s former health director.

Husted was appointed in January 2025 to the seat Vice President JD Vance left open. He is now in a close special election against former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, who lost Ohio’s other seat to Sen. Bernie Moreno in 2024. Brown’s campaign drove a mobile billboard around Dayton on Saturday blaming Husted for higher gas prices tied to the Iran war.

The appearance was a rare move into electoral politics for Gruden. He resigned as Las Vegas Raiders coach in October 2021 after the publication of emails he had written years earlier that contained non-politically correct language. He later sued the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell, alleging that the league leaked the messages to force him out. The league denies this, and a jury trial is scheduled for May 2027 in Las Vegas.

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