The news that Bengals owner Mike Brown preferred Colin Kaepernick to Andy Dalton in round two of the 2011 draft (Dalton was taken one spot before Kaepernick) comes more than two years after word emerged that Brown preferred another quarterback to Dalton.
Thanks to a reminder from a loyal reader, Adam Schefter of ESPN reported in October 2011 that Brown preferred Ryan Mallett to Dalton. Mallett eventually was selected by the Patriots in round three of the draft.
Schefter said at the time that offensive coordinator Jay Gruden (pictured) was “instrumental” in selling Dalton to Brown. Though the latest report focuses on a different alternative quarterback, the message continues to be that Gruden wanted Dalton.
Which means that Gruden will likely be spending plenty of time this week during his car wash of head-coaching interviews explaining what he saw in Dalton -- and why Gruden hasn’t been able to draw that out of Dalton in three career postseason games.
Also, teams interviewing Gruden perhaps would be wise to see who he likes from the 2014 quarterback class. And then to pick someone else.