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Former NFL coach Jon Gruden is rumored to want to become a college coach. This comes as he is in the midst of a lawsuit against the NFL over leaked emails.
However, ESPN analyst Pete Thamel refutes the notion that any college team will hire Gruden given the circumstances, per Sean Keeley of Awful Announcing.
“My hunch on Gruden is that, look, there’s 136 of these Division I FBS jobs,” Thamel said during Thursday’s The Pat McAfee Show. “It’s a Star Wars bar right… you go from Miami to Seattle from Phoenix to Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. There’s a lot in between with the Marshalls and the Western Kentuckys and Arkansas States. I think Jon Gruden could land somewhere amid that, so I would not project him to go to the SEC. There are just better college coaches available than Jon Gruden. I just think that the university hiring process for Gruden, who is amid ongoing litigation, could add some complexities to that.”
Gruden hasn't coached since 2021, when he resigned as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. It came in the aftermath of leaked racist, sexist, and homophobic emails from 2011 to 2018 sent by Gruden to colleagues.
He is suing the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell for allegedly trying to damage his reputation. Recently, the Nevada Supreme Court ruled in favor of Gruden, allowing the case to be moved to a public court.
Will a college team take a chance on Jon Gruden?
Last year, three college teams wanted to give Gruden a chance. Among them were the University of Florida, the University of Arkansas, and the University of South Florida.
Before his departure, Gruden was an accomplished coach who included a Super Bowl win in 2003 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. If a team were to hire him amid the lawsuit, it could spell backlash.
In 2023, the New Orleans Saints hired Gruden as a consultant to develop QB Derek Carr.
