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Jon Gruden preparing for a return to coaching

By Jack Crosby

Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden directs the North team at the 2007 Under Armour Senior Bowl in Mobile Jan. 27. (Photo by A. Messerschmidt/Getty Images)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden directs the North team at the 2007 Under Armour Senior Bowl in Mobile Jan. 27. (Photo by A. Messerschmidt/Getty Images) /
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Jon Gruden, in a recent interview, admitted that he’s always preparing for a return to the coaching ranks.

As each year passes and he’s in the broadcast booth and not on the sidelines, everyone wonders whether or not former Super Bowl-winning head coach Jon Gruden will ever return to coaching. Whenever there is an opening — be it in the NFL or at a major college — his name will be brought up in some form or fashion, but he ultimately ends up right back in the Monday Night Football broadcast booth.

Well for those who are yearning for Gruden to return to the field, there might be a glimmer of hope. In a recent interview with Pewter Report while discussing his upcoming induction into the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Ring of Honor, Gruden talked about how the work he does every day at the famed FFCA — the Fired Football Coaches Association — is actually helping him prepare for a potential return to the coaching ranks. He also noted that he has in fact had some talks with teams recently.

“I’ve met with several people — I won’t deny that,” Gruden said to PewterReport.com. “Just about every year I talk about coming back to coach. I’m not in here every day at 4:30 or 4:00 in the morning watching pinball, you know? I’m preparing myself to come back. I am. Every day. I’m preparing to come back.”

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In January of 2009, following a seven-year run as the head coach of the Buccaneers which included a Super Bowl win in his first season at the helm, Gruden was fired after ending the season on a four-game losing streak. Many didn’t think he’d be out of the coaching game all that long, but he immediately signed on with ESPN in May of 2009 and hasn’t really looked back since. In addition to his weekly NFL work on Monday nights, Gruden has also manned the booth for some college football bowl games.

Whether or not Gruden ever returns to the coaching ranks is something we don’t know for sure yet. But he definitely has it on his mind, that is for sure.