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Years ago, Jon Gruden brought in characters to the Raiders. Also, he almost took the University of Tennessee job. These days, according to NFL rumors, Gruden is a coach to watch when the hiring cycle hits full gear, according to a post on X by Tom Pelissero.
“Key an eye on Jon Gruden,” Pelissero said. “We have not seen Gruden on a full-time basis in the NFL since back in 2021 when he resigned after offensive emails were leaked to the media that he had sent while working as an analyst at ESPN. However, he has remained engaged. We saw him on the sidelines with the Bucs’ owners earlier this fall. We saw him working with the Saints back in training camp last year.”
Will Jon Gruden be able to get his foot back in the NFL door?
Pelissero said Gruden could have already been back on the sidelines.
“My understanding is, if he had wanted the Saints offensive coordinator job last year, he could have had it,” Pelissero said. “He ultimately decided he was not going to do that.”
However, Pelissero said it’s not a sure thing that a team would hire Gruden.
“It’s not to say for sure Jon Gruden will be back,” Peliserro said. “But there are multiple teams that have been doing extensive homework on Jon. I would not be surprised at all, if in the coming weeks, you see Jon Gruden’s name popping up, interviewing for head coaching jobs.”
Gruden said earlier this year he wants to get back into coaching, according to nytimes.com via CBS.
“Yeah, I’m interested in coaching,” Gruden said. “My dad was a college coach, I was a college coach at Pitt. My wife was a cheerleader at Tennessee when I met her. Hell yeah, I’m interested in coaching. I know I can help a team. I know I can help young players get better, and I know I can hire a good staff. And that’s the only thing I can guarantee. But yeah, I’m very interested in coaching at any level, period.”
Gruden may not have learned from past mistakes
Gruden didn’t express remorse over his emails, which possibly could impact a team’s decision.
“I’m not even, you don’t even … I’m not even going to get into whether or not,” Gruden said. “The due process will take care of itself. I haven’t even had my due process yet, so for me to sit here and say, ‘Who said what?’ You know, we’ll just go through the process and leave it at that.”
Gruden said he’ll just keep his options open about coaching.
“If there’s somebody out there that thinks they need a candidate, somebody to come in there, maybe lather it up a little bit, jazz it up a little bit, I’ll be down here in Tampa,” Gruden said. “I’ll be ready to go if needed.”
