Lane Kiffin has been an active presence on social media since taking over at Florida Atlantic, and he added a little fun to the rumors involving Jon Gruden and Tennessee.
ESPN’s Chris Low not-so-seriously asked Kiffin — who coached at Tennessee for a year and is sometimes mentioned in the current search — whether it was true Gruden would join the staff as a graduate assistant.
Kiffin turned the question around, saying he’d be a GA for Gruden instead.
Either way, that’s the foundation of an elite staff.
Jokes aside, rumors have linked Gruden to Tennessee each of the last three occasions the program needed a new head coach. The connection picked up metaphorical steam when Gruden called Tennessee a “dream job” in 2015. He started his coaching career as a graduate assistant in Knoxville 31 years ago.
Will this time be any different? That’s the big question, but probably not. Gruden, a color commentator for Monday Night Football, is the highest-paid ESPN employee. He’s previously expressed a hesitation to be a head coach in college due to concerns with recruiting rules, too.
But as long as Tennessee doesn’t have a coach, the Grumors will swirl. Message boards will proclaim a “done deal.” And hopefully, Kiffin keeps tossing in a few jokes.