One return to the NFL is enough for Rob Gronkowski, but there is one head coach out there who can possibly convince him to make a second comeback.
Gronk is one of the top tight ends to play the game, winning four Super Bowls and being named to five Pro Bowl and four All-Pro teams
He played nine seasons with the New England Patriots before taking a year off and playing two more with Tom Brady with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
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Rob Gronkowski attends the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2023 Issue Release Party at The Guitar Hotel at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino May 20, 2023, in Hollywood, Fla. (Alberto Tamargo/Getty Images for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit)
A 12th season seems like a long shot. But when Kay Adams asked Gronkowski which coach would have the “best chance” of luring him out of retirement, he thought for a bit and his eyes lit up.
“Brian Daboll,” he said.
“He can’t get me out of retirement, but he would have the best chance to get me out of retirement,” Gronk said of the New York Giants coach.
Daboll joined the Giants last year after his stint as the Buffalo Bills’ offensive coordinator. In his first year as a head coach, he was named the NFL’s Coach of the Year, leading the Giants to a surprising playoff appearance and their first postseason win since a Super Bowl victory over Gronkowski’s Patriots in 2012.
The Giants don’t need Gronk. They acquired Darren Waller in the offseason. But a two-tight-end strategy is something Gronk craves.
“That would be pretty wild. I always believe that having two tight ends … it makes the defense have the most difficult times,” Gronkowski said. “If you have two tight ends, I think that could make the offense unstoppable. And it’s rare if you go back to my days when I had another tight end with me.
“It just makes the offense prolific, unstoppable. It gives you so many more options in the run game and the pass game and play action.”
Brian Daboll, head coach of the New York Giants, reacts after a play in the second quarter of a preseason game against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field Aug. 11, 2023, in Detroit. (Mike Mulholland/Getty Images)
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But as much as Daboll might want to get Gronkowski back on the field, it seems the 34-year-old is content with how his career finished up.
“I love to pretend that I can still play. It makes me feel good. But, no, I can’t. I’m washed up. But I just like to pretend.” Gronkowski told Adams.
Rob Gronkowski on the bench as a member of the Patriots. (Jim Rogash/Getty Images)
Gronkowski caught 621 passes for 9,286 yards and 92 touchdowns in his career. His 17 scores led the league in 2011, his first All-Pro season.
He had four 1,000-yard seasons and could have had more if he stayed healthy in 2012, 2013 and 2016.
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Gronkowski played for only two head coaches during his pro career — Bill Belichick and Bruce Arians.
