Jon Gruden is the one coaching candidate that makes Tennessee fans want to celebrate in the streets. And for good reason.
If there’s a candidate to replace Butch Jones that seems approachable and would be a surefire winner, it’s Gruden. Hiring Gruden would be the biggest slam-dunk since Alabama hired Nick Saban, right? Maybe.
Those that are clamoring for Gruden to become UT’s next head coach have reason to believe it could happen. Gruden owns land in East Tennessee, he was a graduate assistant for the Vols when he met his current wife and he has long expressed interest in the program, most notably by his visit to UT’s campus last weekend. So it’s simple, Gruden is the Vols’ next head coach, right? Well, let’s not go that far.
Before contracts are drawn up and Jones is removed from the athletic facilities, let’s take a moment to truly consider if Gruden would be a great college coach or is even a real candidate.
As for the latter, common sense would say Gruden isn’t a real candidate for the UT’s head coaching position or any other. First, Gruden has a great job at ESPN. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Gruden makes $6.5 million a year, which likely doesn’t include endorsement deals. He doesn’t have the pressure to win football games every weekend, doesn’t have to tolerate egotistical professional athletes or immature college athletes nor deal with the frustrations of recruiting.
The only thing that would cause Gruden to step back into the coaching arena is a simple desire to coach. By winning the Super Bowl, Gruden has proven he’s a superior coach. His coaching resume is intact.
Some would say the team he won the Super Bowl with, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was actually more of former Bucs’ coach Tony Dungy’s team than Gruden’s and that defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin allowed Gruden to simply focus on the offense. That’s an oversimplification.
Gruden was smart enough to not clean house when he arrived in Tampa. He also added some key free agents to the offense in which he totally re-tooled.
Like any new hire at UT, there would be reasonable doubts about Gruden. The questions for Gruden would be whether Gruden wants to be a tireless recruiter and what kind of staff he could assemble after being out of coaching for so long. First, Gruden’s name and public persona would help him be a great recruiter immediately and UT is an easy school to recruit to. Second, Gruden has vast contacts in the coaching community. Assembling a staff shouldn’t be a challenge.
Gruden would certainly be an upgrade over UT’s past two coaches, but there’s no guarantee he would be an elite college coach considering he hasn’t coached in college since 1989. Recruiting is about networking and relationships. That would be Gruden’s first challenge.
Now, could Gruden actually be a realistic candidate for the Vols? My first inclination is to say ’no’ because of his current job status. However, there are reasons to believe Gruden would at least listen to UT’s administration, who many believe targeted Gruden when Phillip Fulmer was fired in 2008.
Former UT coach and current talk show host Doug Matthews recently claimed that Jon Currie’s promise of hiring Gruden was part of the impetus that led to Fulmer’s firing. Currie was an associate athletic director under former athletic director Mike Hamilton at the time. Currie was hired as UT’s athletic director earlier this year.
While Gruden’s status seems solid at ESPN, it would also be wise for him to at least explore other options. The media company has had major cutbacks recently. Gruden seems like an untouchable personality but his pay rate could change if the cost-cutting at ESPN continues. Gruden has brought insightful football knowledge to ESPN. That seems to be less important to the network than it was in the past.
The answer to whether or not Gruden would be a successful coach again and is a realistic candidate is quite simple: How bad does Gruden want to coach? Gruden could simply listen to UT’s overtures to help his current contract situation. He could be an average recruiter if he doesn’t have the passion for it, which would be understandable considering he’s incredibly wealthy.
Only one person knows if Gruden would be a viable candidate and elite coach head coach. That’s Jon Gruden. So until he addresses the issue, which would be after Jones would be fired, let the Grumors continue.
