'Back in black' with Raiders' rock star coach, Jon Gruden
NAPA, Calif. - Jeff Leonardo is the guy behind The Guy.
He's the right-hand man to Jon Gruden, essentially spending every waking moment with the $100-million coach of the Oakland Raiders, from swinging by his house to pick him up for work at ungodly hours, to helping organize his schedule, to compiling video on players, to holding up the dry-erase board at training camp that shows the play for the No. 1 offense.
"Jon," he said, "is a rock star."
Leonardo should know. Before he spent the last 13 years as an ESPN bus driver for the "Monday Night Football" crew - nine of those transporting Gruden from city to city - he was a fixture in the rock music scene. Over 30 years, Leonardo drove the band bus on tour with Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Ozzy Osbourne, Guns N' Roses, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Buffett, Alicia Keys and others.
"It's easier to mention who I haven't worked with," said Leonardo, who at 54 is the same age as Gruden and might be mistaken for him from a distance when both are in their training camp gear - white T-shirts, baggy black shorts and
