Pimpin' Gruden

Shameless pump for Gruden, along with yet another Michigan connection. BTW, way to go Tyrone -- possible assistant under a Gruden led M:

"I'm not going to have any magic; I'm no guru like the guy with the Lakers," Wheatley said, referring to Phil Jackson. "I don't have any Zen books. But what I do know is coaches."

Wheatley was more than just a player who carried the ball. He was a student -- a student of the game and a student of coaches like Tampa Bay's Jon Gruden.

"I've been watching coaches for 20 years," he said. "I've been watching motivational styles. I kept track of what worked for me and what worked for other players.

"The biggest thing is to get them to believe in themselves."

That was his challenge after taking over a team that never enjoyed a single victory last season.

"You've got to get them to trust you," Wheatley said. "If you have the experience, they will trust that. I speak a bunch of mumbo jumbo and they'll do it if they think it works.

"I tell them we've got to do things right. Gruden used to say: 'Do it my way because it's my way. It's not the right way because it's my way. It's the right way because it's right.' "

Link here.