The New York Jets are getting nostalgic with some of its head coach pursuits but that won’t include Jon Gruden.
“There have been rumors about Jon Gruden’s return to the NFL, but he’s not expected to be on the Jets’ radar,” ESPN’s Rich Cimini said on Sunday, January 5.
Gruden, 61, hasn’t been a head coach since he resigned in 2021 from his role with the Las Vegas Raiders amid some inappropriate behavior in some leaked emails.
Gruden is Considering an NFL Comeback
The former Super Bowl-winning head coach served as a consultant with the New Orleans Saints in 2023.
“Keep an eye on Jon Gruden. 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 sent while working as an analyst at ESPN. However, he has remained engaged,” NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero explained on “Good Morning Football.” “We saw him on the sideline with the Bucs’ owners earlier this fall, we saw him working with the Saints back in training camp last year. My understanding is if he had wanted the Saints offensive coordinator job last year, he could have had it. He ultimately decided he wasn’t going to do that. It is not to say for sure that Jon Gruden will be back, but there are multiple teams that have been doing extensive homework on Jon Gruden – the situation, him as a coach, [and] him as a person. I would not be surprised at all if in the coming weeks, you see Jon Gruden’s name popping up interviewing for a head coaching job.”
When Pelissero was on “The Rich Eisen Show” on Friday, January 3 he mentioned Gruden as a possibility for the Jets head coaching vacancy.
“Offensive coaches who have had some degree of success as head coaches, Jon Gruden is on that list. That is a name that I fully anticipate that you are going to hear. I believe there will be interest in Jon Gruden this time around,” Pelissero told Rich Eisen.
Gruden is an offensive coach. The first coaching gig of his life came back in 1986. He has worked with tight ends, wide receivers, quarterbacks, and has been a head coach at multiple stops.
Gruden’s record as a head coach is 117-112. Most recently with the Raiders during his four-year run, he went 22-31. Before that, there was a 10-year gap between NFL head coaching stints.
What do The Jets Have to Lose?
Why not interview Gruden? If the Jets will interview Rex Ryan, what’s the difference between him and Gruden?
According to NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport, Ryan will speak with the Jets on Tuesday, January 7 for the vacant HC gig.
Gruden will have to answer for those emails in an interview setting and it’ll be up to those teams if they are willing to forgive and forget. Putting those aside he is a coach with a ton of connections across the league, he’s passionate, and obviously very football-intelligent with the game.
The Jets should try to speak with as many football-centric people as possible to ask them how they’d fix the team. Hearing all of those plans and answers can only benefit the Jets as they attempt to turn this thing around.
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