Tag: jon runyan

It’s no secret by now that New York Giants Hall of Fame defensive end Michael Strahan and former Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle Jon Runyan are long-time friends.

It didn’t start out that way. The two men were fierce rivals on the field with Runyon charged with keeping Strahan off Donovan McNabb’s back.

Strahan recently told Giants.com’s Michael Eisen the story of how their friendship was forged back in 2002 at the Pro Bowl by Runyan’s wife, Loretta.

“We’re hanging out by the pool, and there’s this nice lady talking to me,” Strahan said. “She said, ‘You should meet my husband. There’s just families hanging out.’ And I’m like, ‘Okay, I’ll meet your husband.’ Freaking Jon Runyan. It was his wife (Loretta). She set me up.

“I’d never had a conversation with him, never desired to. We literally talked there, and from then on, I could play tough and hard against him, but I couldn’t hate him. I had to channel something else besides thinking I had to hate the guy to play well against him because he’s such a nice guy, such a good guy, and his wife was such a sweetheart. I can’t hate this guy.”

Runyan was mentioned in Strahan’s Hall of Fame acceptance speech, an event in which Runyon — and his son, Jon Jr. — attended.

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“You made me a student of the game”@michaelstrahan praises Jon Runyan Jr.’s father during his Pro Football Hall of Fame induction speech pic.twitter.com/3BaCyYTJle

— New York Giants (@Giants) March 15, 2024

This week, when the Giants signed Jon Runyan Jr. to a free agent contract, the relationship came ‘full circle’ as the younger Runyon stated.

Strahan got a kick out of his old team adding the son of his nemesis/friend this week.

“One of my favorite things is knowing that Jon Runyan has to root for the Giants,” Strahan said, laughing. “That was the first thing that came to my mind, ‘Thank God, now Jon has to actually root for the Giants. This is going to be awesome.’”

The New York Giants augmented the interior of their offensive line this week in free agency with the signing of guard Jon Runyon Jr., a former starter for the Green Bay Packers by way of Michigan.

Most of the questions tossed at Runyon were about his famous father, Jon Sr., a ruling offensive tackle who played 14 years in the NFL and was a common foil for Giants’ Hall of Fame defensive end Michael Strahan.

That’s a great story, and we’ll get to that, but first — what can Runyan the younger do for this Giants’ miss-mosh of an offensive line? Will he play right or left guard?

“I’ve kind of split both sides left and right my whole career,” Runyan told reporters at his introductory press conference this week.

“If I were to choose, I probably would say left, but I feel comfortable on both sides of the ball. It doesn’t really matter. My whole career I’ve just always wanted to get on the field and stay on the field and play football, and that’s what I’m here to do.”

That will all be straightened out in training camp this summer. The way things have been going for this unit the past few years, it would be wise for Runyan to prepare to play multiple roles along the line.

But it was the Strahan angle reporters wanted to know about. Runyan Sr. battled Strahan for many years as a member of the Eagles from 2000-2007 and their matchups became must-watch TV.

Runyan Jr. knows the significance of the rivalry and is now prepared to experience it from the other side.

“My dad played for the Eagles for nine years. I grew up in South Jersey. I kind of understand the whole NFC East rivalry between all these teams here. It’s some tough, gritty football,” he said. “Watching my dad and Michael go at it twice a year was always fun growing up, watching it go down on Monday night or Sunday Night Football. I’m just happy to be part of it. It’s a special part of my childhood, and excited to go forward and implement my own story.”

Runyan Jr. said he hasn’t spoken to Strahan directly yet but said his dad probably has. He said they speak often in retirement.

“My dad and Michael, even though on the field they were bitter rivals, after the game I remember for years and years every year Michael would always be waiting outside the team bus. He and my dad would always chat it up after the games. I would be standing right there. Obviously, at the time I was a big Eagles fan. Always a huge fan of Michael, even though he and my dad had such hard and physical battles throughout the years. But it’s really awesome. It kind of feels like it’s coming full circle,” he said.

“I remember Michael being generous enough to invite me and my family to his Hall of Fame induction in Canton. That was really special, too. I know Michael is laughing and feels like he has a leg up on my dad that he was able to pull me here to the Giants. It’s a really awesome moment, and I’m sure Michael is giving my dad a lot of stuff for that. I’m so fired up to be here and be a Giant and be over here in New York.”

The Giants are getting a class act in Runyan Jr. He is reliable and talented and should bring some much-needed stability to the Giants’ offense.

“I haven’t missed a game in my professional career. That’s something I take a lot of pride in,” he said. “My versatility, dependability, that’s what I’m excited to come here and bring to New York.”