Believe it or not, there isn't much trash talk within the Gray family this week.
When Eagles Assistant Director of Player Personnel Jeremy Gray's father, Jerry, visits Philadelphia for Monday night's showdown between the Eagles and the Atlanta Falcons (8:15 PM, ESPN), he has two objectives:
- Getting a win
- Seeing his grandson, Jett
Hopefully, only the second one will come to fruition. See, Jerry Gray is the assistant head coach/defense for the new Falcons Head Coach Raheem Morris' staff in Atlanta.
"For me, I think growing up around it, I was just innately surrounded by it. I had a genuine love for the game from all aspects," Jeremy Gray said by phone this week as he was in Dallas scouting local colleges and preparing to watch Sunday's Saints-Cowboys game in Arlington, Texas before returning to Philadelphia. "He never really pushed me into it, which I'm actually grateful for because it helped me develop my own genuine love for the game in multiple fashions. Looking back on it now, I really, really appreciate that the most."
This isn't the first time their teams have squared off in Philadelphia. During Jeremy's first season with the team two years ago, the Eagles beat Jerry's Green Bay Packers in a prime-time showdown. Will the Eagles be 2-0, and Jeremy remain undefeated against his father by the end of Monday night?
Jeremy was born at the end of his father's illustrious playing career. A two-time All-American at Texas, Jerry was a first-round pick of the Los Angeles Rams in 1985. In nine NFL seasons, Jerry was a four-time Pro Bowl selection at cornerback, battling the likes of Jerry Rice, Michael Irvin, and Cris Carter. He had three seasons with at least six interceptions and 28 total in nine seasons. Jerry's coaching career began at SMU, where Jeremy would eventually be a three-time letterman as a defensive back, before landing with the Tennessee Oilers two years later. Jerry Gray was a rising star in the coaching community. He was a defensive backs coach for Tennessee's AFC Championship Team in 1999 and the squad that reached the AFC title game the following season. In 2001, Jerry Gray was named defensive coordinator of the Buffalo Bills, forcing Jeremy to pick up and establish new roots in elementary school.
It's something that, upon reflection, had a monumental effect on Jeremy, both personally and professionally. Jeremy understood what the move up the coaching ladder meant for both his father and the family. He embraced the change and accepted all aspects of his new life. Jeremy practically lived in the Bills' facility when he wasn't in school. It was an early apprenticeship for the NFL as he learned the ins and outs of the industry, ranging from the equipment staff to the athletic trainers to the scouts and personnel evaluators. He was on the sidelines on gameday, even traveling with the team on road trips to be around his father. Maybe foreshadowing what was to come, Jeremy recalls being in the draft room while selections were being made.
Jeremy understands that the type of access he was afforded was far from normal, but it was those unique behind-the-scenes moments that ignited his desire to work in the sport.
"Seeing the passion and joy that the game can bring, that's really for me where it started as far as my love for enjoying the game," Jeremy said.
After his playing career at SMU ended following the 2013 campaign, Jeremy set out to blaze his own trail in the football industry. He served as a graduate assistant coach on the defensive side of the ball with his alma mater before getting his first taste of the personnel side in 2016 with the Minnesota Vikings, where he reunited with his father, the team's defensive backs coach. The biggest adjustment, Jeremy says, was that he was no longer just a young, curious kid hanging out in the team facility. He was there to make his mark on the team.
"I wanted to make sure I was being consistent in my approach, making sure that my work speaks for itself, and I'm making not only the team, but also my family and my last name proud. That was the biggest thing for me that was constantly at the forefront of my mind," Jeremy said.
What was the best advice that he received from his father?
"Make sure that your preparation matches what you expect the outcome to be," Jeremy said. "And then with that, just put your time in, whether that would be school work, film study, or weightlifting."
Jeremy returned to the college ranks, knowing that the constant turnover provided faster opportunities for growth. He cultivated his worldview perspective of the game, coaching on the offensive side of the ball as a grad assistant at UCLA before rejoining the Vikings' personnel staff as a pro scout for three seasons from 2018-20. He experienced both the college and NFL sides of the spectrum as the Director of NFL Combine Training for The Star in Arlington for a year before leaving to go to the University of Arizona on the school's personnel side as a college scouting coordinator. The Eagles hired Jeremy Gray in 2022 as the team's assistant director of pro personnel, and he earned a promotion this past offseason, incorporating more of the college scouting process as assistant director of player personnel. His diverse background in coaching and scouting helps minimize potential blind spots in the evaluation process.
"I try to make sure I'm looking at everything from as holistic of a viewpoint as I can because when you're in it, you're very much focused on your task and your assignment and your goal," Jeremy said. "I try to make sure that I'm as mindful of everyone else's perspective at the same time."
Growing up, Jeremy didn't hear much about his father's incredible playing career from him, as he's not one to brag or boast about his accomplishments. Jeremy has dug up teaching tapes that feature his father's highlights. Jeremy's younger brother, Jayden, seeks out as much film as possible to convert it to digital files for preservation. It's only fitting that Jeremy offers a scouting report of his dad's game.
"Definitely a man-to-man corner. Physical hitter, which is kind of unique for the cornerback position these days," Jeremy said. "Really good feet. Really good hips. Had the vertical speed to stay on top and had the ball production to go with it. Was a well-rounded corner. The film definitely speaks for itself."
Before kickoff, there will be some time for family in the City of Brotherly Love. But once 8:15 PM hits on Monday night, it'll be all about the Eagles trying to improve to 2-0 ... and Jeremy doing the same against his dad.
