Rutgers Football adds former NFL center Gino Gradkowski to staff
Rutgers Football is adding another Super Bowl winner to its coaching staff.
The Scarlet Knights will hire former NFL center Gino Gradkowski to the staff, a source confirmed to The Knight Report, as an assistant offensive line coach. The 37-year-old played seven seasons in the NFL before moving into coaching, and won Super Bowl XLVII with the Baltimore Ravens.
Gradkowski had most recently spent the last four years at Division III Rowan (NJ), and was promoted to the Profs’ offensive coordinator in 2024 and 2025.
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Gradkowski’s background
A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Gradkowski originally started his playing career at West Virginia. He then transferred to Delaware — still in the FCS at the time — and developed into an every-game starter for the Fightin’ Blue Hens.
He was selected in the fourth round of the 2012 NFL Draft, as the 98th overall pick by the Ravens. They won the Super Bowl in his rookie year, as Gradkowski played in 16 games. Following the retirement of starting center Matt Birk, Gradkowski assumed the role in his second year in 2013.
In 2015, he was traded to the Denver Broncos in April following three seasons in Baltimore. He was waived before the season. Gradkowski then spent the 2015 season with the Atlanta Falcons, and signed a three-year deal with the Carolina Panthers. Following a 2016 season where he spent the final month on injured reserve — and started the 2017 season on the same list — he was released.
Gradkowski closed his playing career in Denver, playing seven games for the Broncos in 2018.
He returned to his alma mater in 2019, serving as Delaware’s assistant director of student services for athletes, working that role for three years.
In 2022, he joined Rowan’s staff as the team’s offensive line coach and was promoted to offensive coordinator under first-year head coach Pat Ruley in 2024. Gradkowski worked in that role for the past two seasons, as the Profs played in the postseason for the first time since 2014. They averaged 43.6 points per game in 2025 and went 8-2-1.
In addition to his work in college, Gradkowski worked in the UFL as the offensive line coach for the St. Louis Battlehawks in 2024. Rutgers offensive line coach Jim Turner served the same role for the Memphis Showboats that season.
Gradkowski is also the younger brother of former Toledo and NFL quarterback Bruce Gradkowski.
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