If you’re banking on Jon Gruden becoming the next Tennessee head coach, don’t hold your breath just yet.
The Tennessee Volunteers are in search of a new head football coach now that they’ve finally shown Butch Jones the door, and of course, the name that has immediately popped up is that of Jon Gruden. For years, Tennessee fans have longed for Gruden to return to the coaching game to lead their beloved Volunteers, and the ousting of Jones this past Sunday gave them some hope they’d been looking for.
Well, may we suggest to Tennessee fans that are obsessed with Gruden coming to Knoxville not to get their hopes up too high just yet? This is because, according to a report from the Football Scoop staff, there’s not even the slightest glimmer of hope that Gruden is the next head coach of the Tennessee football program. As a matter of fact, they’re told that the Super Bowl-winning coach has no interest whatsoever in jumping to the college game to take up a coaching job in the SEC East in Knoxville.
This week, the rumors of Gruden to Knoxville heated up even further when a report surfaced that not only did he have interest in the job, but he was already planning out what his staff may look like. But, from this new report, it seems that all may have just been false hope down on Rocky Top.
Really, a report of Gruden having no interest in the Tennessee job shouldn’t surprise many. With the gig he’s saddled with right now at ESPN as the Monday Night Football analyst, why in the world would he subject himself to the pressures of trying to resurrect the Tennessee football program? You could try to rationalize it all you want, but plain and simple, it just makes no sense for Gruden to ultimately make this move.
Tennessee could indeed end up making a home run hire, but that hire won’t be Gruden.