SANTA CLARA -- During the 1979 offseason, the 49ers began looking at a quarterback named Joe Montana and decided he was worthy of more research. The team's new head coach, Bill Walsh, turned to his top personnel executive, John McVay.
"Who do we know at Notre Dame?" Walsh asked.
Said McVay: "Well, we know Jimmy Gruden."
Gruden was an offensive assistant with the Fighting Irish, and he was close to McVay after having spent the 1969-72 seasons under McVay at the University of Dayton. He would later work for McVay again, this time as a 49ers scout from 1987 to 2002.