Jon Gruden will become a more prominent figure as the New Orleans Saints prepare for the 2023 NFL season.
Gruden will attend Saints training camp on Friday. He continues the role the Saints gave him on May 27, per the New Orleans Times-Picayune's Jeff Duncan (via PFT's Mike Florio).
Former NFL head coach Jon Gruden is expected to be at Saints training camp on Friday, continuing the consultant/advisory role he started with the team earlier this offseason. pic.twitter.com/iOsxrqqeRv
— Jeff Duncan (@JeffDuncan_) August 4, 2023
Can Jon Gruden and Derek Carr bring life to the Saints' offense?
Gruden began working with quarterback Derek Carr in Saints OTAs in late May. The two men worked together from 2018 to 2021 in the former's second stint as Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders head coach.
Under Gruden's guidance, Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon racked up three consecutive 3,000-yard passing seasons from 1999 to 2001. Gruden also helped Brad Johnson, Brian Griese, and Jeff Garcia of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lead the team in passing yardage.
The bigger question now looms: can Jon Gruden help Carr and New Orleans regroup in 2023?
If the Saints improve their 19th-ranked total offense, they might sneak into the postseason after a two-year hiatus. New Orleans averaged just eight wins per year from 2021 to 2022. It was a significant drop-off from 12-win average from 2017 to 2020.
For now, the Raiders connection of Gruden, Carr, and second-year Saints head coach Dennis Allen have their work cut out for them.
On the other hand, it seems Gruden has put his racist slur email fiasco behind him. Consequently, his second tour of duty with the Raiders came to an abrupt end in the fall of 2021.
Will Jon Gruden assume a bigger role with the Saints in the future? Stay tuned.
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