By Stephen Spiewak
MaxPreps.com
Eden Prairie's Mike Grant has one of the more impressive coaching pedigrees in all of high school football.
His father, Bud, coached the Minnesota Vikings to 158 victories from 1967-1985. Grant's collegiate mentor, John Gagliardi of St. John's, is college football's all-time winningest coach with over 450 victories.
Those influences have helped Grant lead his program to seven state titles since 1996 and establish Eden Prairie as the dominant program in Minnesota.
Grant and the Eden Prairie Eagles will be on display Friday night as part of MaxPreps High School Football presented by Burger King, when they take on Lake Conference rival Bloomington Kennedy at 8 p.m.
Despite graduating over 20 seniors last spring, including top notch talent like Willie Mobley, now a defensive end at Ohio State, and Ryan Grant, Mike’s son, currently a linebacker at Minnesota, the Eagles are once again off to an undefeated start at 6-0. With around 300 players in the program (and an additional 800 kids participating in grades 3-8) Eden Prairie's ability to reload is unmatched.
“We’re just excited to be where we’re at because of the unknowns," Grant said.
One thing certainly not unknown around Minnesota is the Grant family name. Mike grew up around football as his father coached the Vikings, leading the franchise to four Super Bowls. Grant spent a lot of time at the Vikings training camp, and absorbed much of what his father instilled into his players.
“I find myself teaching things that my father said, and thinking, ‘Oh my God, I remember that from 1972,’” he said.
Little did Grant know that his time around the Vikings would merely be the beginning of his coaching education. After high school Grant played football at St. John’s University (Minn.), under the legendary Gagliardi, and won a national championship in 1976.
Grant later joined Gagliardi’s staff in the late 1980s and deepened his understanding of how the program was run.
The fundamentals of Gagliardi’s coaching are reflected in the program that Grant has built at Eden Prairie, where the Eagles are on course for their 14th Lake Conference title in 17 years. Grant is calm and level during practice, much like Gagliardi. He is similarly meticulous in his preparation and game planning, something that’s also manifested in the Eden Prairie team that takes the field each Friday.
“I have guys on my staff that coached at St. John’s, and they say I’m getting more like John everyday,” Grant said. “John is a brilliant coach, a brilliant technical and tactical coach.”
While Grant inherited an astute knowledge of football X’s and O’s from both men, it is the less tangible elements of coaching, he says, that have been the most important lessons he has grasped.
“Both of them are really practical, common sense guys, but they are also great sports psychologists,” Grant said.
Additionally, they both fostered a culture of winning that Grant has internalized, and now promotes at Eden Prairie.
“We’ve won about 95 percent of our games the last 15 years. It’s not easy to keep that going,” says Grant, who speaks with Gaglairdi weekly. “There’s a psychology of how you keep them motivated.”
Whatever Grant does to light a fire under his team has worked in 2008. The team enters this week’s game against Kennedy as the prohibitive favorite after a 22-13 win over a tough Minnetonka squad that could make some noise in the state playoffs.
The Eagles have outscored their first six opponents this fall 189-48 and have won 34 consecutive games dating back to 2006.
Success against Kennedy, who has been very competitive in their games despite a winless record, will not only be judged by the scoreboard, but by the game film. If the team cannot review the film on Saturday and be proud of its execution, Grant will not be happy.
“The score doesn’t determine it,” Grant said. “We’ve had games where we won 45-0 and had bad film sessions, and games where we won 7-6 and had great film sessions.
“We’re not yellers and screamers, and we don’t swear. But we do have really high expectations about film.”
Will Grant pass on the coaching torch to either of his two sons, Ryan, or Taylor, starting tight end for the Eagles this fall? Time will well. Ryan certainly has the intellect. He scored a 33 on his ACT, and chose Minnesota over several Ivy League schools.
As for Taylor, who can also line up behind center and lead the team at quarterback, Grant acknowledges that he has a strong pigskin background.
“He’s one of those kids that has been around football his whole life,” Grant said.
Just like his father.
