“You can take a coach out of football, but you can’t take the football out of a coach.”
Super Bowl 37 champion head coach Jon Gruden has proved this. While he resigned four years ago in 2021, the 61-year-old still has the itch to coach in the NFL.
Gruden was a guest on the “Fitz & Whit” show on Tuesday when he expressed his love for his craft and desire to return to the sidelines.
Jon Gruden Expresses His Wish To Return to NFL
“I miss it. I’m scratching that itch, though right here—I’ve had more people come in here in the past few weeks than probably any coach in the league, college guys, NFL guys. I’m studying every day, scratching that itch,” Gruden stated.
Gruden recently joined Barstool Sports as an NFL analyst, and he has been featured in numerous shows. He fondly expresses that even now, he cannot let go of his love for the game.
Prior to him joining Barstool Sports in November of last year, there were rumors that he might end his NFL ‘exile’ and soon be back on the field.
Even from 2009-2017, Gruden had worked as an analyst for ESPN in between his coaching assignments, and he was widely regarded as one of the top NFL broadcasters.
“I would like one more chance to [coach in the NFL] because I thought we had that team on the right trajectory. We were 3-0, we beat three straight playoff teams, and I thought we had a good young team, and it really crushes me to see how everybody went different directions real fast,” Gruden said. “So, deep down, I’m kind of hoping someday I get a chance, but I’m definitely not counting on anything. So I’ve, uh, reinvented myself.”
The Las Vegas Raiders were 3-0 during the first three games of the 2021 season, defeating the Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Miami Dolphins.
However, they lost their next two games before Gruden resigned on October 11 due to an ugly controversy involving Gruden’s leaked misogynist, homophobic, and racist emails.
The team’s assistant head coach and special-teams coordinator, Rich Bisaccia, was named the interim head coach. He coached the Raiders for the rest of the season, and the team finished with a 10–7 record and was ousted from the playoffs by the Cincinnati Bengals in the Wild Card round.
While Gruden might have now made peace with the difficult situation, he wishes to once again grace the sidelines and return to his previous role. And who knows, he might fulfill his dream and make a comeback someday.