Less than a year ago, critics around the NFL questioned the Tampa Bay Bucaneers in their choice of Jon Gruden as their new head coach.

After being turned down by Bill Parcells, the Buccaneers became the laughingstock of the NFL as the sons of owner Malcolm Glazer began looking anywhere and everywhere for a coach, interviewing at least eight other candidates.

Finally, the Glazers chose Gruden, who had just finished coaching the Oakland Raiders in the AFC Championship game.

But critics weren’t questioning Gruden himself. They just questioned the price the Bucs had to pay to get the 39-year-old leader.

In order to get Gruden, who had one year remaining on his contract with the Raiders, the Buccaneers gave up four draft picks and $8 million to acquire his rights.

Now, it’s the Glazers and Gruden who are laughing at their detractors.

With yesterday’s Super Bowl win over his former team, Gruden proved that the Bucaneers not only made the right move, but also may have walked away with the biggest steal in NFL history.

Sure, the athletes are the ones who typically make or break a team — even Gruden himself would admit he would have never been able to win a championship without players like Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks and Keyshawn Johnson.

But if you would ask those three players and the rest of Bucaneer team, they would say they would have never been able to win “The Big Game” without the leadership of Gruden.

The evidence is obvious: Tampa Bay has had virtually the same personnel since 1996, when Tony Dungy was running the show. But in the Bucs’ four trips to the playoffs under Dungy, they managed to get as far as the NFC Championship game only twice.

In just one season at the helm, Gruden not only led the Bucs to a conference championship with a win at Philadelphia, but he also engineered one of the most dominating defensive performances in NFL history.

Now try telling me Gruden isn’t worth anything.

Matt Duval is a junior in journalism and The Lantern sports editor. He remembers that fleeting moment two years ago when Gruden was “named” the head coach of the Buckeyes. He can be reached at [email protected].