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For 11 years, from 1998 to 2008, Jon Gruden was an NFL head coach. Then, suddenly, he was gone from the league for over a decade. Until he suddenly returned again with the then-Oakland Raiders in 2018.
Yet, Gruden’s reign didn’t last long after a controversy broke out thanks to the discovery of several emails sent by the former Super Bowl-winning coach during an investigation into the Washington Football Team. Less than four years after Gruden returned, he was gone again, with a sudden resignation in October of 2021.
This fallout even included Gruden being removed from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Ring of Honor, despite just being inducted four years earlier thanks to helping win the first Super Bowl in franchise history, back in 2002.
Not only was Gruden away from the NFL for the remainder of his fourth season as head coach of the Raiders, he also sat out for the entire 2022 season too. Then, before the 2023 year began, Gruden attended offseason meetings with the New Orleans Saints, who had just acquired Derek Carr.
The idea was for Gruden to help the offensive staff, led by coordinator Pete Carmichael, acclimate themselves to Carr’s strengths, weaknesses, and preferences as a quarterback. However, for whatever reason, Gruden did not join the team in a full-time role. That could be changing soon.
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While Gruden has largely spent the past two years away from football, he could be plotting a return to the sidelines, but not in his usual role as head coach.
According to Jeff Duncan of Nola.com, the New Orleans Saints will soon be making changes to their offensive staff after an inconsistent season. Those changes could include Jon Gruden joining the coaching staff in New Orleans. However, it won’t be as the offensive coordinator, with Pete Carmichael expected to stick in his role with the Saints, as he has since 2009.
Gruden coached Carr for nearly four seasons with the Raiders, and the two clearly have a mutual respect for one another. In addition to working with the Saints before the year kicked off during training camp, Gruden also reportedly visited with Saints team officials during their Week 17 road trip to Tampa Bay, where the former NFL head coach still has a home. This even included Gruden being present for a team meeting before the game.
The last time Gruden had an NFL role that wasn’t as a head coach was in 1997 with the Philadelphia Eagles when he was the offensive coordinator. As mentioned, that spot isn’t available in New Orleans either.
To find a time when Gruden operated in a role that wasn’t head coach or offensive coordinator, we’d have to go back to 1994, when Gruden was the wide receivers coach for the Green Bay Packers. However, he doesn’t seem to care about any of that; what he’s interested in is the chance to get back in the NFL by working with Carr again.
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