Ex Patriots Star Gronk Unretiring? Only One Team Could Lure Him Back

New England Patriots legend Rob Gronkowski may never put back on the pads again. But, if one coach could convince him, who would it be?

Does former New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski want to put back on the shoulder pads and helmet for another run in the NFL? 

No, at least not from the sounds of things. Yet if one coach could convince the 34-year-old to come out of retirement one more time, who'd it be?

“My hometown team,” the Patriots legend said in a recent interview on the Up & Adams show.” “Brian Daboll, yeah. He can’t get me out of retirement, but he would have the best chance to get me out of retirement.”

While it seems like a random pick from Gronkowski on the surface, he does have a prior history with the now second-year New York Giants coach. Daboll and Gronk have worked together before, as the former coached under Bill Belichick on two occasions in Foxboro, once from 2000-'06 and then again from 2013-16, where he served as the tight ends coach.

Playing under Daboll, Gronkowski would put together his first and only back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving campaigns in 2014 and '15. In those two seasons, Gronk totaled 154 receptions for 2300 yards and 23 touchdowns as he was voted into back-to-back Pro Bowls while also winning the 2014 NFL Comeback Player of the Year award. The four years that Daboll and Gronk were together were arguably the best for the latter. 

Yet, after winning two Super Bowls, Daboll would leave the Patriots following the 2016 season as he took the offensive coordinating job at Alabama. Although, that pitstop in Tuscaloosa lasted just a season as he'd wind back up in the NFL, this time as the coordinator for the Buffalo Bills, where he'd spend four seasons in Orchard Park before becoming the Giants coach.

Combine the success that Gronk and Daboll experienced together in Foxboro with the potential forming of a tight-end duo in East Rutherford after the Giants traded for Darren Waller this offseason; it doesn't seem enticing enough to the former Patriot to make a comeback.

“That would be pretty wild,” Gronkowski said about pairing up with Waller. “I always believe that having two tight ends makes the defense have the most difficult times. If you have two tight ends, I think that can make an offense unstoppable."

Despite the pipedream of seeing Gronkowski pair up with Waller, the 34-year-old is content with enjoying his life away from the field. 

“I love to pretend that I can still play,” Gronkowski said. “I can’t, I’m washed up but I l just like to pretend.”

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