Gregory is the man responsible for giving Warner, a two-time NFL Most Valuable Player, his first big break after college.
View full sizeFormer Iowa Barnstormers quarterback and two-time NFL MVP Kurt Warner.The reality is, Gregory did not happen to be in the Cedar Falls Hy-Vee when he "found" Kurt Warner stocking shelves in the mid-1990s. But Gregory is the man responsible for giving Warner, a future two-time NFL Most Valuable Player, his first big break after college.
Gregory remains coach of the Iowa Barnstormers, who visit The Q tonight for a game against the Gladiators. Iowa (4-5) and Cleveland (4-6) desperately need a victory to stay competitive with Chicago and Milwaukee in the Midwest Division.
As Gregory was building the roster for the Barnstormers entering their inaugural season in 1995, he received a call from Terry Allen, coach at the University of Northern Iowa. Allen suggested he take a look at Warner, who played for Allen and was undrafted in 1994. Warner went to the Green Bay Packers' training camp, was cut and returned to Northern Iowa as a graduate assistant.
What: Gladiators vs. Iowa
Barnstormers.
When: 7 p.m.
Where: The Q.
Radio: WJMO AM/1300.
"We were searching for players, especially players from Iowa," Gregory said. "Kurt was pretty good on the game tape I had. So he was worth taking a look at, sure. We brought him in for an open workout, he played well, so we signed him."
Warner earned the starting job. The next two years, he put up terrific numbers in leading the Barnstormers to the ArenaBowl.
"Kurt was a class guy to work with," Gregory said. "He was smart and picked things up quickly. Although he didn't have very good speed, he had what I would call basketball quickness. He got out of trouble with his ability to slide one way or another. He had great downfield vision and was able to make plays on the run."
In 1998, the St. Louis Rams signed Warner and allocated him to NFL Europe. In 1999, Warner took over for injured Trent Green in St. Louis and orchestrated "The Greatest Show on Turf." He earned his first MVP award and helped the Rams get to the Super Bowl, where he threw for 414 yards in a victory over Tennessee and was named game MVP.
Warner also was regular-season MVP in 2001. His Rams went to the Super Bowl as favorites but lost to Bill Belichick's Patriots.
Warner later played for the Giants and Cardinals before retiring after the 2009 season. He ranks among the highest-rated passers in NFL history.
Gregory, asked if he ever saw this coming, did not engage in revisionist history that might enhance the screenplay.
"No," he said. "I don't think anybody could have imagined Kurt would rise to those heights. I think that would be impossible for anybody to project."
Then Gregory laughed.
"Otherwise, I would have been his agent right there," he said.
Gregory said countless players have asked over the years if they have what it takes to reach the NFL. Part of it comes from players being competitive and never wanting to settle, but part of it comes because players -- especially quarterbacks -- know about Warner.
"The key for any player is being in the right place at the right time, but I don't know if I'll ever have a two-time NFL MVP again," he said. "I've had a lot of really, really good quarterbacks over the years, but obviously he's been the best."
The Barnstormers are coming off a 48-42 victory over Bossier-Shreveport last Saturday. They had lost two in a row.
"It's been a roller-coaster season," Gregory said. "It's one of those things: Which team are we going to have this week?"
The Gladiators suffered their worst loss of the season last Saturday when the Milwaukee Iron rolled them, 82-54, in Milwaukee. But the Gladiators have a victory over Iowa in their pocket, having prevailed, 70-56, on the road in Week 6.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: dmanoloff@plaind.com, 216-999-4664