ESPN Monday Night Football analyst Jon Gruden has no interest resuming the position of head coach. Five coaches lost their jobs, which has created open positions in Cleveland, Detroit, Minnesota, Tampa Bay and Washington where Gruden has been listed as a potential option. Prior to joining ESPN in 2009, Gruden was the head coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as well as the Oakland Raiders. Ironically, during Gruden’s first year with the Buccaneers the team won Super Bowl XXXVII, defeating the Raiders. Though Gruden achieved great success at a young age (he was 39 at the time of his Super Bowl win, which made him the youngest coach to earn that honor) he has no interest in becoming a head coach now.
On Monday, Gruden spoke with the Pioneer Press. “I don’t want to be considered for any of these jobs. I don’t want to be considered for anything. There are plenty of good candidates out there. I’m just sick for the guys who can no longer coach their teams. I’m hoping to do the best I can to hang on to my job,” he said.
There have been rumblings that Jon Gruden’s younger brother, Jay, (who is the Cincinnati Bengals’ offensive coordinator) may be offered a position. Jon shared the following: “He’s happy to be at Cincinnati and excited to be in the playoffs. I can’t speak for him. I’m not going to. They’re in the playoffs, and I’m obviously biased toward my brother.”
Some have wondered whether Jon Gruden would be interested in returning to coach the Raiders. However, Raiders owner Mark Davis remained tight-lipped about the possibility when questioned on Monday by the Bay Area News Group. “I’ll never talk about what I’m doing in those respects. It’s such a competitive business, there’s no reason anyone should know what I’m thinking until I do it.”
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