GILROY
– For five weeks, Fred McGrew fooled Gavilan College into
thinking his name was Larry.
That’s Larry as in Larry McGrew, a linebacker for the NFL’s New
England Patriots from 1980 to ’89, plus a season with the New York
Giants in 1990.
By SCOTT FORSTNER and PETER CROWLEY
Sports Editor and Staff Writer
GILROY – For five weeks, Fred McGrew fooled Gavilan College into thinking his name was Larry.
That’s Larry as in Larry McGrew, a linebacker for the NFL’s New England Patriots from 1980 to ’89, plus a season with the New York Giants in 1990.
Not only did it impress people; it got him a part-time job. Gavilan’s head football coach, John Lango, believed the story and hired McGrew as a defensive line coach a little more than a month ago, thinking he’d be adding some NFL experience to his staff this season.
He was wrong.
Gavilan officials fired Fred McGrew Tuesday and reported his suspected identity theft to the Gilroy Police Department. Since Wednesday, he’s been in county jail in San Jose on one count of impersonation and for claiming he was an NFL football player.
According to GPD Capt. Debbie Moore, McGrew fraudulently used a Social Security number that actually belongs to an elderly woman.
“He is not the ex-NFL player,” Moore said. “That has been verified.”
McGrew told the GPD his real name was Frederick W. McGrew, according to Moore. Yet the driver’s license he showed county jail officials shows his name as Frederick Lawrence McGrew. Police could not explain this discrepancy as of press time but are looking into whether the driver’s license is fake.
The county district attorney’s staff has not yet decided whether to charges McGrew with felonies or misdemeanors.
Gavilan officials wouldn’t say specifically what led them to determine McGrew wasn’t who he claimed to be, citing the privacy of personnel information. According to college Athletic Director Ron Hannon, McGrew was going to be fired even before Gavilan officials decided he was an impostor.
Athletic director calls police
Hannon – the man who called the cops on McGrew – insists that giving a false identity wasn’t why McGrew was fired. Rather, Hannon said McGrew was let go because of a “difference in coaching philosophies” between him and Lango.
“He wasn’t getting the job done,” Hannon said of McGrew. “There was a difference in opinions, in coaching styles, how the information would be communicated to the players, and that was becoming a distraction. … We have a good team this year, and John felt like he needed to remove any kind of distractions.”
Hannon refused to say whether he knew about McGrew’s impersonation when McGrew was fired. He called police the same day, but he refused to say what suspicion led him to do so.
Prior to his firing, McGrew (still posing as the former NFL player) contacted The Dispatch by telephone several times, asking when a news story would be done on him. When interviewed at a Gavilan practice, McGrew kept up the front – rattling off the accomplishments of the player he is charged with impersonating, plus some exaggerated claims.
McGrew’s most glaring embellishment was that he was Super Bowl XX’s Most Valuable Player. In fact, the Chicago Bears routed the real McGrew’s Patriots 46-10 in that contest, and Chicago defensive end Richard Dent was the MVP. Larry McGrew did, however, recover a fumble that led to New England’s opening field goal in the first quarter.
In addition, the alleged impostor McGrew stated that he was a three-time All-American at the University of Southern California, which staff at USC’s Sports Information Office deny; a six-time Pro Bowl selection in the NFL; and a four-time Super Bowl participant, including as a member of the 1997 Denver Broncos.
The real Larry McGrew – born in Berkeley – was a standout linebacker for USC and the Patriots, but he never made the All-American or All-Pro teams.
Players were taken in
Gavilan defensive players thought they were learning from someone who not only had made it to the NFL but excelled at the highest level.
“It’s great,” sophomore defensive end Willie Gamboa, a Gilroy High graduate, said at a practice in late August. “He brings a lot of knowledge: NFL knowledge and (collegiate) Division I knowledge.”
“He’s an intense coach,” said sophomore nose guard Josh Visperas, a graduate of Gunderson High in San Jose. “He brings a lot of knowledge.”
According to an eyewitness, McGrew accidentally let his real first name slip to a Gavilan football player, who in turn informed Lango. The witness claims to be present when McGrew was at a gathering with several Gavilan football players, at a house some players from out of town share. A player reportedly overheard someone ask McGrew his name and heard McGrew reply that it was Fred. This player later told Lango that Coach McGrew’s first name was not Larry, but Fred.
According to a second source, Lango confronted McGrew over the phone and told him to pack his gear and leave.
Lango declined comment, referring all questions to Hannon. Hannon said he had no knowledge about the witness’s report and could not confirm or deny it.
Coach changed his story
On Wednesday – the day police arrested McGrew on Hannon’s tip – Lango denied knowing McGrew was a fake, telling The Dispatch that, as far as he knew, the former assistant coach was who he said he was. He said he had fired McGrew because of “philosophical differences.”
Later that day, at practice, Lango declined to answer any questions on McGrew – saying he was told not to say anything and only to focus his attention on his players and their upcoming game against Marin College on Saturday.
Gavilan Public Information Director Jan Bernstein Chargin said McGrew was fired for a combination of questionable coaching ability and questionable identity. At the same time as Lango was having problems with his new coach, Chargin said, Gavilan’s Human Resources Department was struggling with the employment paperwork McGrew submitted.
“They were trying to help him get paid,” Chargin said. “A document was what prevented him from being paid.”
Citing personnel privacy, Chargin declined to say which of McGrew’s documents HR staff found to be fishy.
As is required of all new Gavilan employees, McGrew had presented his driver’s license for photocopying and had been fingerprinted for a criminal record check, according to Chargin. His fingerprints showed he had no criminal record, Chargin said, but they didn’t show his true identity because there is no such procedure as an “identity check” availible to Gavilan.
Back to football?
McGrew may have filed his employment paperwork well after his Aug. 2 start date, according to Chargin, which would explain why his identity wasn’t challenged until five weeks into the job.
“Our procedures do allow someone to start work before their paperwork is in … except in our child-development center,” Chargin said.
In the end, McGrew never did get paid because of discrepancies in his paperwork. By the time Lango was ready to fire him, the HR staff had enough suspicion to prompt Hannon to go to the police, according to Chargin. Hannon, however, refused to say what made him think McGrew might not be who he claimed to be.
Lango is now taking on McGrew’s former defensive line duties in addition to his own. Both Hannon and Chargin insist the loss of one assistant coach won’t dampen the football season.
“We haven’t missed a practice; we haven’t missed a game,” Chargin said. “The impact on the (head) coach or the players is negligible.”
“This is not going to be a distraction for us,” Hannon said. “Coach Lango is real clear with his team that no player or coach is more important than that team.”
