Tennessee football fans should have no qualms with head coach Josh Heupel, as the No. 7-ranked Volunteers are 8-1 ahead of their primetime matchup with No. 12 Georgia on Saturday. However, it's fair to wonder how Jon Gruden would've done in the role, too.

The former Las Vegas Raiders coach almost coached Tennessee in the past, via Pardon My Take.

“My wife cheered at Tennessee. I love Tennessee. I was a graduate coach there, and I did talk to the Athletic Director, and I don’t look up to anybody more than I look up to Peyton Manning and Kenny Chesney,” Gruden admitted. “Those are two of my favorite Tennessee guys. And I was very interested in doing it. At that time I was having so much fun on Monday Night Football with Mike Tirico I couldn’t take any other job… I almost did consider pulling the trigger there.”

Although Gruden didn't say what year the Volunteers offered the job, he called Monday Night Football games with Tirico at ESPN from 2011-14, so it had to be around then. The Volunteers had losing seasons during that period under Derek Dooley and Butch Jones, with the exception of '14, when Jones led them to a 7-6 record and a win in the TaxSlayer Bowl.

However, it wasn't meant to be, and now Gruden will work for Barstool, a popular blog online covering sports and pop culture.

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It worked out for both Tennessee football and Jon Gruden 

Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava (8) during a college football game between Tennessee and Mississippi State at Neyland Stadium
Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

While Gruden coaching in the SEC would have been intriguing, football fans can still enjoy his energetic commentary from the media side of things, via Barstool's Dave Portnoy.

Meanwhile, Tennessee is on track to make the newly-expanded 12-team College Football Playoff, led by freshman phenom Nico Iamaleava at quarterback. Heupel has revitalized Volunteers since he arrived in 2021, so while Gruden would've helped them last decade, this situation still worked out well for both sides.