Jon Gruden Named as a Candidate to Watch For Prominent College Football Job
It isn't new for former Raiders coach Jon Gruden to be at the center of coaching carousel talks, but he did throw the football world for a curveball with his latest move.
Earlier in November, Gruden shocked the sports world by announcing that he had signed on at Barstool Sports. While this didn't necessarily mean that his days of calling Spider-2-Y-banana were over, it did cause some to wonder if he still had a desire to coach. An even bigger question would be whether or not he'd want to coach at the college level, considering he spent the majority of his coaching career at the NFL level.
He did reveal on "Pardon My Take" that once upon a time, he was interested in the Tennessee job when it was open but ultimately couldn't get himself to leave "Monday Night Football."
While there isn't a job of that caliber open in college football this year, there is one job that 247Sports' Cooper Petagna tabbed Gruden as a "name to watch" for, which would be the head coaching role at UCF.
Then-Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden.
Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
The UCF gig became a surprise opening on Sunday after head coach Gus Malzahn resigned from the role in order to take the offensive coordinator job at Florida State. A decision he made after back-to-back sub-.500 seasons in Orlando.
If Gruden were to be hired, he'd certainly be one of the notable coaches in the sport due to his past coaching life and time in the media. However, it would be quite an adjustment from the NFL to college ranks due to all of the recruiting, NIL, and transfer portal aspects he'd have to navigate.
His most recent role in the NFL was in 2023, when he was a consultant for the New Orleans Saints. Before that, he was the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders for what was the second time in his career.
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