Gradkowski coaching brothers team up to build Battlehawks offense (2024)

When Bruce Gradkowski’s little brother visited him last year, the trip included a chance to hang out with coaches of the St. Louis Battlehawks as he was contemplating a coaching career of his own.

Little brother Gino Gradkowski is a former NFL center who is six years younger than his former NFL quarterback sibling.

While preparing a game plan for the week’s game against the D.C. Defenders, Bruce Gradkowski — the team’s offensive coordinator — became ill. Gino Gradkowski jumped in to offer some help but not just a tidbit here and there.

“I had to get done with my script and PowerPoint and then I was going to bed,” Bruce Gradkowski said. “At the end of the day, Gino came in saying, ‘I broke down D.C.’s last three games. They’re doing this, this and the other.’ I’m thinking: I know he’s a smart guy and understands football, but I didn’t know he was this organized and detailed.”

It was the first step toward the brothers being united on the Battlehawks staff. Gino Gradkowski was hired this year as the team’s offensive line coach, joining Bruce, who is in his second year as offensive coordinator.

They come with a combined 14 seasons in the NFL and one Super Bowl championship won by Gino with Baltimore in his rookie season.

Both had dabbled in coaching before becoming a portion of the brain trust behind the Battlehawks, who are second in scoring and third in total offense in the United Football League entering Saturday’s home game against Memphis.

“Our conversations have evolved over the years, but since we were little kids, football has been such a big part of our lives,” Gino said. “We’d talked about football all the time when we were players. When our careers ended, we’d always be sharing different ideas about schemes and things like that.”

The brothers have two sisters between them in age, which Bruce said helped minimize issues between he and Gino. Both were NFL draft picks, Bruce out of Toledo and Gino out of Delaware.

They never played for any of the same teams and ended up covering nearly a third of the NFL’s cities with both making stops with five franchises.

Bruce played in 37 career games with 20 starts, the majority with Tampa Bay. His best year was as a rookie, when he threw for 1,661 yards and nine touchdowns. Gino played in 60 games with 20 starts.

Battlehawks coach Anthony Becht said he has seen nothing but professionalism and respect between the two.

“It wasn’t like a big brother picking on the younger brother,” Bruce said. “There was too much age separation, so it was never a teasing thing. It was him and my sister who’d get into it. When I was playing at Toledo and got drafted by Tampa Bay, he got to witness that stuff. That opened his mind that, oh, it’s possible to go to the NFL.”

Bruce Gradkowski’s only previous coaching experience was at high schools and as an offensive analyst for a season at Toledo. Gino had spent two years at Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey.

They hadn’t been living in the same city since 2001, when Bruce left for college. They went about their football lives, moving city to city but never landing in the same spot.

“We’d always stay close and talk all the time, but this is the most significant amount of time over this long period,” Gino said. “It’s been great just to be around each other and work together. Our working relationship is pretty good so far. When we’re working, it doesn’t always feel like we’re brothers when we’re in it.”

They are working to develop an offense that is more balanced. Quarterback A.J. McCarron, who has raved about Bruce Gradkowski’s play calling, is the best-known offensive player, and now the Battlehawks are working to establish more of a running game to complement what was the top passing offense in the XFL in 2023.

Gino’s contributions in that area with his line work has started to pay dividends the past two weeks.

“He’s great with the guys,” Bruce Gradkowski said. “He was a center and knows how to communicate, and he works his tail off. Some nights I say, ‘Bro, you need to go home and get some rest.’ He’s always watching film and has a lot of great ideas.”