NFL Insider Serves Reality Check on Jon Gruden’s Chances of Again Becoming a Head Coach

As we head into the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs, there are currently eight head coaching vacancies, and now, Mike Florio of “Pro Football Talk” is examining whether former Las Vegas Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Jon Gruden receives any interest.

The Possibility of Jon Gruden Being an NFL Head Coach Again

As mentioned, there are eight teams with head coaching vacancies in the NFL, including the Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, Tennessee Titans, Miami Dolphins, Las Vegas Raiders, Arizona Cardinals, and Atlanta Falcons, and with many names being floated as potential fits like Kevin Stefanski, Mike McCarthy, and more, but what about Gruden?

As Florio noted, Gruden said in July that he is “working hard to maybe get one more shot” at coaching. PFSN’s Ryan Gosling also listed Gruden as an “under-the-radar” candidate.

However, he also says that if any teams are interested, they’re “keeping things very quiet.”

Gruden last coached for the Raiders in 2021 and resigned after inappropriate emails were leaked. After resigning, Gruden sued the NFL, and the lawsuit has been successful thus far. In his final full season as a head coach, the 2020 Raiders ranked ninth in PFSN’s NFL Offense Impact Metric (84.0).

And that’s one of the main questions Florio is posing, saying, “Will a team do business with a coach with whom the NFL desires to do no business whatsoever?”

According to Florio, the main roadblock for Gruden right now is the lawsuit, not the emails or his ability.

That said, Florio notes that Gruden is 62 years old now and, since winning the Super Bowl in 2002, has a coaching record of 117-112, and asks, “Does a team think Gruden can recapture the magic from years gone by?”

That’s a fair question, as teams can talk to him openly since he’s not connected to any other franchise. Florio also offers an opinion that could turn out accurate: “With 25 percent of the NFL’s head-coaching jobs still open, this seems to be Gruden’s last, best shot at getting another job.”

There’s the elephant in the room: the Raiders have a head-coaching vacancy, but could that actually happen? After all, according to owner Mark Davis, Gruden didn’t want the team to sign Brady when he became a free agent in 2020 before he went off to the Buccaneers and won a Super Bowl.

For now, Gruden can be found all over Barstool Sports, and he also has a YouTube channel where he breaks down games, interviews current and former players, and provides a glossary of football terms, such as “5 Man Pass Protection” and how to beat Cover-3.