Sports
B1
Appeal Tribune, www.silvertonappeal.com
Wednesday, October 12, 2016
DANIELLE PETERSON/STATESMAN JOURNAL
McNary Assistant Coach Scott Gragg, a former Silverton player and coach who played 11 seasons in the NFL, talks with his son, Brian, during practice on Wednesday in Keizer.
Longtime NFL linesman
Gragg back in Mid-Valley
PETE MARTINI
STATESMAN JOURNAL
KEIZER - Scott Gragg is back coach-
ing high school football in the Mid-Valley,
and life is good.
The former Silverton head football
coach, who left in 2010 to coach at the Uni-
versity of Montana, is now on McNary’s
staff as a volunteer assistant lineman
coach.
And there is an added bonus for the
former NFL offensive lineman — he gets
to coach his son, Brian.
“It was kind of a perfect fit,” Scott
Gragg said. “I love the community of
Keizer, the staff at McNary. Everything
has been a great adjustment for Brian
and for our family.”
In addition to his football coaching,
Gragg works at McNary as an instruc-
tional coach.
“You teach teachers, or you help
teachers,” Gragg said about his role at
the school.
A life in football
After playing high school football at
Silverton and college football at Mon-
tana, Gragg was selected by the New
York Giants in the second round of the
1995 NFL Draft.
Gragg played 11 seasons in the NFL
for the Giants, San Francisco 49ers and
New York Jets. During that time, he
played in 172 games, including 149 starts,
according to NFL.com.
As his playing career was winding
down in 2005, Gragg began searching for
options for life after the NFL.
“My last year with the Jets, I knew
that was going to be my last year just be-
cause of a similar family dynamics I was
in,” Gragg said. “It was a chance to con-
tinue playing, but it was going to be one-
year contracts and bounce around and
being mobile. And we had kids that were
young, and we didn’t need to do that any-
more.
“At that time, Tony Smith had re-
signed at Silverton around Christmas-
time,” Gragg added. “And I just thought
then maybe that’s something I would be
interested in pursuing. I had a degree in
math, and had some introductory stuff
into education. The further I looked into
it, the more I got interested and found
that it’s something I love.”
Coaching career begins
After coaching at Silverton, Gragg
left in 2010 to join Montana’s coaching
staff as a tight ends coach and recruiting
coordinator. He worked his way up to co-
offensive coordinator and assistant head
coach during his five seasons on the staff.
“I really enjoyed my time at Montana.
When (head coach) Mick Delaney re-
tired, they brought in Bob Stitt, and he
brought in his staff, and that didn’t in-
clude me,” Gragg said. “That’s a part of
collegiate football.”
Gragg said that they thought about
moving back to Oregon at that time, but
decided to stay in Montana so his daugh-
ter, Anna, could finish high school before
playing volleyball at Liberty University
in Virginia.
“At that time, our daughter was a sen-
ior in high school, and thought about mak-
ing the move back to Oregon, but decided
in the best interest of her aspirations to
play collegiate volleyball, that we would
stay put,” Gragg said. “So I took a job as a
middle school/high school principal in
Fort Benton, Montana.”
Gragg said he considered getting back
into college coaching, but he had higher
priorities.
“Collegiate athletics are a lot of fun.
It’s a lot of work too,” said Gragg, whose
wife is named Toni. “And we’re in a sea-
son of life where we want to be able to en-
joy Anna play athletics, enjoy Brian’s last
two years of high school and get back to
Oregon. So we made the decision in June
REACH US: Cliff Kirkpatrick, ckirkpatr@Salem.gannett.com
to move back to Oregon.”
Back home in Oregon
At McNary, Gragg is coaching along-
side some familiar faces, including head
coach Jeff Auvinen and assistant coach
Brad Emmert.
“Brad Emmert was on my staff at Sil-
verton,” Gragg said. “And I’m related to
Jeff, he’s a cousin by marriage. And so,
it’s an opportunity to work with them,
people I know and am familiar with.”
As an instructional coach in the
school, Gragg has some administrative
duties, but the job still allows him to
spend more time with family.
“Serve teachers as they need and see
fit, or if I see an area where I can help out,
I’ll do that as well,” Gragg said. “It’s got
an administrative component to it, so I’m
still filling that niche. But a big part of be-
ing an administrator is afterschool super-
vision, and meetings and things that take
you away from your family. They’re all
great things, but this allows me to go to
Virginia three times this fall, it’ll allow
me to watch Brian. I don’t feel like I’m
missing it because of other commit-
ments.”
Brian Gragg, a 6-foot-11 junior line-
man for McNary, said it has been fun be-
ing a part of the same team as his father.
“He’s my coach on the field, and he’s
my dad at home,” Brian Gragg said. “I
don’t want to get that confused, I don’t
want to get that mixed up. I don’t want
players to see me as a coach’s son. I want
them to see me as another player.”
Brian Gragg said he has enjoyed being
back in Oregon after six years away.
“It’s a lot of nostalgia,” he said. “Just
recently, I was down at Oktoberfest, and
it was a lot of fun. I saw a bunch of people
from my grade school. It took me back,
and it was a lot of fun.”
Brian Gragg said the biggest differ-
ence between going to school at McNary
and in Montana is the size of school.
“It was K through 12, and it was 180
students. That’s it, K through 12. Not a lot
of people,” he said. “I feel a lot more shy
than I have before.”
Brian Gragg said he is proud that his
father was able to reach the NFL as a
football player.
“Looking back, I think it’s a really cool
achievement that he was able to get to
that,” Brian Gragg said.
What does the future hold?
Scott Gragg has a passion for leader-
ship, which is why he loves working in an
education environment.
“I love opportunities to lead and guide
others,” Gragg said. “Whether that be
other teachers, students, players, that op-
portunity to lead in a transformational
way and a positive way is something I
really enjoy.”
Could he return to college coaching?
“I’ve learned to never say never be-
cause the second you say never is when
those opportunities come up,” Gragg
said. “I know what the next level looks
like now, and I’ve seen coaches that do it
really well, and I’ve seen coaches that
don’t do it well. And I can probably count
on one or two fingers the guys I would
consider going back and working with,
just because I know the environment
would be right and they would be doing it
for the right reasons. And my phone’s not
ringing off the hook for those, and they’re
happy in their positions. So I would high-
ly doubt that.”
What about a role in the NFL?
“I’ve looked at other leadership oppor-
tunities, some in the NFL, and some col-
legiately, and politically, all different
areas,” Gragg said. “And it seems like I’m
always coming back to education and
education leadership. And so if that’s
where I’ll be five years from now, it’s
tough to say. I hope so. I know after count-
less moves after every four or five years,
we’re ready to be settled.”