You might find his gear at Goodwill, but Eddie Gran will ‘always be a Kentucky fan’
Former University of Kentucky football offensive coordinator Eddie Gran was a key figure in some of the biggest moments in the Wildcats’ history, including its win over Penn State in the 2019 Citrus Bowl to secure the program’s first 10-win season in more than 40 years.
That win was significant, but it’s not one of the two “special” moments that first came to mind when Gran was asked about his favorites over the course of his five years in Lexington.
A season-saving switch to Lynn Bowden at quarterback following a loss at South Carolina and the success UK had with its rushing attack as a result — it set single-game records for rushing in back-to-back games and finished with more rushing yards than any other team in school history in 2019 — was a predictable one. Left for dead following injuries to two quarterbacks, Gran and UK’s other assistants maximized Bowden’s athleticism with the help of one of the best offensive lines in the country. Every opponent knew what the Wildcats were doing and they still managed to win six of their last eight contests, including a bowl victory.
The other time wasn’t dissimilar, but for fans it might be a little easier to overlook. Moment No. 1 in Gran’s recollection was his first season at the helm, when after starting quarterback Drew Barker went down with a back injury, UK reworked its offense around junior-college transfer Stephen Johnson and won six of its last seven games to qualify for a bowl under head coach Mark Stoops for the first time.
“We grabbed a guy that hadn’t played a college snap before at a big-time level, Stephen Johnson, and did this wildcat (offense) and had two 1,000-yard rushers for the first time in the history of Kentucky football and we win six out of the last seven,” Gran said. “We go to a bowl game. To me, that was incredible. What our staff did there, and what we did to build and win those games, that right there and then what we did with Lynn.
“Those are the two, probably in my professional career, that were the most satisfying.”
Snapping a 31-game losing streak to Florida and defeating Tennessee in Knoxville for the first time since 1984 were other moments with which Gran is thrilled to be associated, and that he’s happy he was able to deliver to a Big Blue Nation starving for marquee victories over UK’s “rivals.”
“It’s probably the greatest thing I kind of realized after my first year here,” Gran said. “Everybody told me when I came here that this is a basketball school. It is, but I’m gonna tell you this, it’s a football school as well. And man, I always just appreciated the passion of BBN and the people here and the positivity. How they treated me was always fantastic.”
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Big Blue Nation
Gran had a good thing going at Cincinnati when Mark Stoops phoned him in 2016. Some folks told him going to Kentucky would ruin his career.
“It kind of ticked me off,” Gran said. “ … Well, it did far from that. I had some opportunities to leave Kentucky and did not. And I didn’t because I love this state. I love where we were going, what was happening. I wanted to keep being a part of something special. And my working conditions, who I was working for and all those things, where I’m living, the community, all those things made my decisions, actually, really easy.”
It didn’t end the way he would have liked it to, of course, but Gran harbors nothing but fondness from his time in the Kentucky football program. He’s given away most of the gear that he’s collected over the years to friends, churches and other donation sites, but has kept a few items — like some memorabilia from that Citrus Bowl victory.
He contends that he stays far away from the more critical parts of the internet, but is aware that some onlookers called for his head ad nauseum. He suspects they were part of a vocal minority.
“When you’re an offensive coordinator, you can’t really ever go and be right,” Gran said. “You don’t run it enough. You don’t pass it enough. For the majority, BBN and the people here have treated Eddie Gran and his family as good as anywhere else I’ve been. And it will always be appreciated. I’ll always be a Kentucky fan. I love this place.”
Gran also coached UK’s running backs all five seasons he was with the team. Kentucky recently hired a replacement for that position, Jemal Singleton, who less than a month later was hired away by the Philadelphia Eagles to become that franchise’s assistant head coach.
In an ironic twist, in response to reports of Singleton’s departure more than a few fans hurled Gran’s name into the mix as the ideal “successor.”
“It’s fantastic that they would even (say that),” Gran said. “ … Mark and I have a phenomenal relationship. He is a dear friend and always will be. For them to want me to come back and be the running back coach? I love it. It’s pretty cool.”
He continued, laughing.
“I don’t think that’s gonna happen. But they got some good running backs there. That guy’s gonna be really happy, because it’s a great room.”
