Former Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden is starting to make the media rounds. He has a new deal with Barstool Sports and is all over social media right now.
It's hard to deny that Gruden isn't a great media personality. He's crazy, funny and very energetic. While he's great on TV, we all know what he truly loves is coaching football. He can somewhat scratch that itch working the media but it's not the same as actually coaching players on Sundays.
Boomer Esiason recently suggested that there are teams that would be interested in hiring the coach, but Mike Sando of The Athletic threw cold water on that idea. Sando compared Gruden to former New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, who was suspended by the NFL for incentivizing players to injure opposing players.
Instead of fighting the NFL on the allegations, Williams was very apologetic and did get a chance to be a defensive coordinator again. One coach explained why Gruden would have a hard time finding an NFL job.
“Gregg revived his career because he repented and did community service for Goodell,” a veteran coach told Sando. “If the league waited to get Gruden on the emails (as Gruden has alleged and the league has denied) because they thought he was a thorn in their side by running his mouth, Gruden is reprising what contributed to his demise.”
What Gruden's doing is great for his media career but could hurt his chances of being in the NFL. It's not like he was very impressive during his second stint with the Raiders.
If Gruden really wants to get back into coaching, his best option is to join the college ranks. He could probably land a big-time college head coaching job. We all know Gruden loves the state of Florida and both Florida and Florida State could have openings.
Having success leading a college program would help him get back into the NFL.