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Longtime football coach Jon Gruden hasn’t coached in the NFL since retiring in 2021 following a scandal involving his emails to former Washington Football Team, now Commanders, general manager Bruce Allen.
While the issue will forever hound Gruden, he is still keen on returning to the NFL.
Now working for Barstool Sports, the 61-year-old Gruden visited the training camp of the Detroit Lions on Monday in Allen Park. When asked about a possible comeback to the NFL, he didn’t hesitate to sell himself.
“Hopefully, I’m not done. I’m about to make a comeback. I’m working hard to maybe get one more shot, but hopefully some of these guys that fell off my branch, if you say it that way, maybe they can hire me cause I’m looking for a job,” said Gruden in a report from Detroit Free Press’ Dave Birkett.
While he didn’t exactly specify anyone, Gruden could be referring to the Lions’ new offensive coordinator, John Morton. He was a protege of Gruden, having worked together for several years with the Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders.
Several current head coaches also came from Gruden’s NFL coaching tree, including Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Kyle Shanahan of the San Francisco 49ers, Sean McVay of the Los Angeles Rams, Brian Callahan of the Tennessee Titans, and Raheem Morris of the Atlanta Falcons.
Gruden, however, noted that even if it’s not in the NFL, he’d still be happy to coach.
“I don’t care if I coach at Jones Junior High. I’m going to coach again. I’m still coaching,” said Gruden, who led the Raiders to the Super Bowl title in 2003 “I’m just not on a team officially, but I do have some private assignments I work on and I wear some gear when I’m watching the games that nobody knows about who I’m pulling for.”
Birkett wrote that “at least one NFL team reportedly did research on Gruden” this offseason.
After his resignation, he served as a consultant for the New Orleans Saints in 2023.
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