Why Aaron Garcia Could Be the Next Jay Gruden

This week brought about talk of milestones: Nick Davila breaking both the 30,000-yard and 700 TD
barriers in a mere seven seasons, Rod Windsor passing the 10,000 receiving yard mark, Tiger Jones closing in on 1,000 catches. This has brought about some great debates as to who is the best of all time at what position, etc.

These talks create the perfect storm to determine who will be the next big name to provide something of a legacy for the Arena Football League. Kurt Warner immediately comes to mind from his days in Iowa, but many newer fans forget who followed him: Aaron Garcia.

(photo credit: hogshaven.com)

Jay Gruden is another name to come to mind thanks to his two titles as head coach of the Orlando Predators (1998, 2000, and lost ArenaBowl XIII in '99), but again, few remember that he also played quarterback for the Predators in 2002 and '03 before returning to the bench. Plus, remember the 90s uniforms for Throwback Night? Gruden donned one from 1991-96 when the Storm arrived in Tampa Bay (for the record: 59.6% comp, 15,521 yards, 280 TDs, 77 Int).

Under the legendary late Tim Marcum, Gruden led the Storm to three ArenaBowl championships (VII; IX, where he beat Orlando; and X, where he defeated Kurt Warner), giving him five in total before departing the League for good to move on to the United Football League, and eventually the NFL.

That's something of a legacy to leave both under center and behind the bench. Now, Aaron Garcia could become the second man to leave such a mark.

(photo credit: news4usonline.com)

Garcia played for a total of 10 teams in his 19-year career, amassing 4,963 completions from 7,794 attempts for 62,159 yards (fifth all-time in the history of professional football), 1,336 touchdowns (most all time by about 800), and a mere 229 interceptions. However, despite all of the accomplishments, the glut of AFL talent and those who came from the NFL to play in the league throughout the late '90s and 2000s limited him from even reaching the ArenaBowl until he threw his last-second touchdown pass to Jeron Harvey to win the title in 2010.

After hanging up the pads and cleats, the expansion Las Vegas Outlaws offered him the franchise's first-ever coaching job. Without much time to prepare or much talent on the field, he guided them to a 5-12-1 record, which was good enough to earn a playoff spot before the League let 5-13 Portland in due to ownership issues. The questions are these: what if he has a talented team like one in Jacksonville? What if he gets another expansion team with an offseason to prepare? Could he win an ArenaBowl as a coach? What if he does?

The possibility remains, and will for the foreseeable future. Aaron Garcia, given the right team and the right job, could find himself right on the sidelines again. With all the expansion talk and possible job openings, it could be sooner or later. Given what he was able to accomplish with a team like Las Vegas, it wouldn't be surprising to see him lift the Foster Trophy sometime soon.

If he does, then he joins Jay Gruden as the only men to win an ArenaBowl as a player and a head coach (the NFL has a similarly short list, as Mike Ditka and Tony Dungy are the only championship players to lift the trophy as head coaches). To do something that has only been done once before in nearly 30 years, whether Garcia follows Gruden on to the big leagues or not, will input his name all over Arena Football League history, both in the founding days and in the renaissance era.

That should add a more than a bit of spice to the debate about who truly is among the league greats.