Former NFL coach Jon Gruden says the Tennessee Volunteers job is his dream one.
Remember when Lane Kiffin used the Tennessee Volunteers as a stepping stone to a bigger, better job at the University of Southern California? Well not everyone sees a stop in Knoxville, to some, like Jon Gruden, it is a dream job.
Gruden almost took the job after the 2012 season but elected to stay in broadcasting which also offers him the chance to be around football, likely with less stress.
“I don’t know how close,” Gruden said, via Chase Goodbread of NFL.com. “I love football. I’ll be the first to tell you, I miss coaching. But I do look at my job here as a lot like coaching. I get a chance to be around it 364 days a year and I feel like I’m improving, but I don’t have a team. Tennessee is a dream job for a lot of people, me included. Timing wasn’t right. I’ll say this about the Volunteers, they got the right guy. I think Butch Jones is going to put the Volunteers back on the map. It might happen this year.”
Gruden makes a valid point about Jones, he has the program on the cusp climbing back to the top of the SEC which would be a monumental accomplishment.
Tennesee has to be happy with the job Jones is doing but likely would’ve rather had Gruden at the time, he was a coach with NFL experience who won a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That doesn’t mean his NFL success would translate to college success, however, but it would’ve been sexy for the boosters and recruits.
If Jones doesn’t succeed, it has to be a bit unnerving knowing that there is a coach of Gruden’s caliber that is interested in his job.
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