It wasn’t too long ago that Jon Gruden said he was comfortable in the Monday Night Football booth and that he was committed to his job with ESPN, but reports surfaced last week that said Gruden would have interest in returning to coaching if it was with the Oakland Raiders.
Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports continues to hear that there is interest from Gruden in joining the Raiders, and he passed along the updated information on Sunday morning.
"Back in November I reported that former Super Bowl winning coach Jon Gruden would be drawn to the possibility of coaching the Raiders or Falcons, and I continue to hear that Oakland in particular has a certain appeal to him and owner Mark Davis could re-start attempts to lure Gruden back.Davis was in protracted talks to try to land Gruden late in the 2012 season, league sources said, and while the Raiders’ finances have been constrained, and it would take a massive commitment to land Gruden and his staff, it remains possible with young head coach Dennis Allen again under review and the Raiders still stuck on four wins. While many in the coaching fraternity frown on the Raiders’ coaching situation, sources said Gruden, who formerly coached there, maintains a strong connection to the team and is very close with Raiders Hall of Fame coach John Madden."
With all of the connections, it would certainly make sense for Gruden to consider the Raiders if they offered him the job.
All we will need to do is wait and see if the Raiders ever reach out.
If they do and Gruden decides to return to coaching in the NFL, then that could be bad news for Terrelle Pryor and Matt McGloin. Gruden would likely want to start over with his own quarterback running the show, so Oakland could look to draft a quarterback early in the 2014 NFL Draft with Gruden running the show.