“You can take a coach out of football, but never the game out of the coach.” Super Bowl 37 Champion head coach Jon Gruden has proved the same. While he resigned four years ago in 2021, the 61-year-old still feels he can make a comeback and get to his coveted position.
Gruden was present on the ‘Fitz & Whit’ show on Tuesday when he expressed his heart out. And it showed that he still had a love for his craft and probably some years left, too.
Jon Gruden expresses his wish to get back to his previous job
“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,” Jon Gruden stated.
Currently, Gruden has joined Barstool Sports and has been featured in numerous shows, including The Pro Football Football Show and The Yak. He fondly expresses that even now, he cannot let go of his love for the game.
At the time when he joined Barstool Sports in November last year, there were rumors that he might end his NFL ‘exile’ and soon be back on the field.
Even from 2009-17, Gruden had worked as an analyst for ESPN in between his coaching assignments, which speaks a lot about his keen eye for the game.
“I would like one more chance to do it because I thought we had that team on the right trajectory. We were 3 and 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. 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,” Gruden added.
The Raiders were 3-0 during the first three games of the 2021 season, defeating the Baltimore Ravens, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Miami Dolphins.
However, they lost their next two games before Gruden resigned on 11th October due to an ugly controversy that showed his leaked chats. Gruden was tagged as a misogynist, homophobic, and all kinds of slurs.
Next, the assistant head coach and special-teams coordinator, Rich Bisaccia, was named as the interim head coach. He led the Raiders for the rest of the season as the team finished with a 10–7 and was ousted from the Wild Card Playoffs by the Cincinnati Bengals.
While Gruden might have now made peace with the difficult situation, he wishes to once again grace the stadium and command the same respect. And who knows, he might fulfill his dream and make a comeback someday.