THE win would possibly have been just that little bit sweeter if it had been clinched using the Tush Push quarterback sneak which he has helped them to perfect.
But seeing the Philadelphia Eagles defeat the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl LIX at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans in the early hours of Monday morning – and deny their opponents an unprecedented “Three-peat” in the process - was still hugely satisfying for Richie Gray.
The Scot, a rugby union and American football coach who hails from Galashiels in the Borders, has worked with the NFL franchise intermittently during the past few years and also supplies them with their technical training equipment which his company GSI Performance manufactures.
So he was elated with the richly-deserved 40-22 victory which Nick Sirianni’s side recorded over Andy Reid’s team in Louisiana regardless of how it was achieved.
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“Ideally, I would have wanted them to have scored with a Brotherly Shove in the last second of the game to win the Super Bowl not in the first quarter,” he said with a smile. “But it was still quite funny to see them go in front using it. To be honest, though, they were far too good last night.”
Gray was first drafted in to help the Eagles fine tune the Tush Push or Brotherly Shove, an innovative but controversial manoeuvre which had polarised opinion in America, two years ago and was unexpectedly thrust into the limelight on the other side of the Atlantic as a result.
Jason and Travis Kelce, the celebrated brothers who played centre for the Eagles and tight end for the Chiefs respectively at the time, revealed his involvement on an episode of their hugely popular New Heights podcast when they somewhat cryptically described him as “the Scottish man”.
He returned to Philadelphia last year to cast his expert eye over the play – which has, despite numerous calls for it to be outlawed from many prominent figures within the NFL, not been banned - earlier this season and was pleased it proved highly effective again in New Orleans.
Gray, though, felt there were two crucial factors which gave the Super Bowl winners the edge over the defending champions.
“One of them was they transferred Saquon Barkley across from the New York Giants. He’s the running back and he’s been absolutely phenomenal for them. They were getting a little bit of criticism for not running the ball enough last year, but they made a brilliant signing in Barkley.
“They also brought in Vic Fangio, the legendary NFL defensive coordinator. A Vic Fangio defence is known for being really aggressive, for getting in your face, for rushing the quarterback, for putting him under huge pressure. That's been a massive shift for them this season. They've become an incredibly difficult team to play against.
“Adding those two things to the other quality coaches and players they have has made them a difficult team to shift. The Eagles have always been a good side. They were in the Super Bowl a couple of years ago. But they've been very, very good this season and deserved to win.”
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was sacked on no fewer than six occasions and threw two interceptions as the Eagles, who had romped into a commanding 24-0 lead by half-time, dominated.
“Mahomes came under a massive amount of pressure last night,” said Gray. “The Eagles got to him a couple of times early on and the Chiefs just never got into their stride, never got going, after that.
“Andy Reid actually said in an interview through the week that he's never managed to put a Vic Fangio defence away yet. So Vic Fangio must be like a nightmare for Andy Reid. The minute this guy appears it's like, ‘Oh no, it's going to be a big problem’. The Eagles’ defensive effort was excellent, it really was.”
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Gray could take a certain amount of satisfaction from what was only the Eagles’ second Super Bowl triumph personally as well.
“They've retained the Brotherly Shove and it probably helped the Eagles get off to the perfect start,” he said. “There was a big discussion about it being banned last year, but it wasn't banned and it did its job again.
“Other teams have tried to replicate what the Eagles do, but just can't do it as well, can’t do it as consistently, as them. There are three reasons for that. One, it's expertly coached by Jeff Stoutland, who is one of the best O-line coaches in the world.
“Two, the O-line the Eagles put out last night was one of the biggest in NFL history, so that helps as well. Three, they also rep it more than other teams. They just about do it in every single game they play. It's not like a thing you'll only see every two or three months, they try it two or three times per game.
“So I have a vested interest. It's a very difficult play to train for, but they're so used to doing it now that it's like a well-oiled machine that's very difficult to stop.”
He added: “I'm linked to Riddell in America, the company that makes all the American football helmets. They have all my tackling equipment and something like 20 out of the 32 NFL teams now use my kit. But the Eagles are the first Super Bowl winners to use my equipment. So it's good to know that it's making a difference.
“I've developed kit that's slightly different to what they have out in the US and the teams love it. I'm going back out to Orlando again next month to speak to all the teams about how they can use the equipment when it comes to injury recovery at the NFL Health and Safety Summit.
“I presented to all 32 owners at it last year. I spoke about the hip drop tackle, which was a dangerous technique which ended up being banned. It is fantastic to be involved with a major organisation like the NFL.”
The Philadelphia Eagles, the Super Bowl LIX winners, will doubtless feel it is good to have Richie Gray of Galashiels on board as well.
