Jon Gruden named as surprise option to take over historic SEC football program

Jon Gruden has been out of football for a couple years, but that hasn’t kept national analysts from speculating on whether he might be a good option for a college football program in what has emerged as an historic coaching carousel for the ages.

And now that Auburn has parted ways with Hugh Freeze after going 15-19 with the program, Gruden’s name has been mentioned as one of 10 candidates who the school should consider as Freeze’s replacement.

Jon Gruden to Auburn? SI makes the connection

Sports Illustrated analyst Bryan Fischer listed Gruden as an option Auburn should look into.

“Gruden has expressed a desire to take a college job, and the Tigers would tick the boxes off in terms of prestige, location, and ability for the fan base to buy in,” Fischer noted.

The arguments against Gruden could center around Bill Belichick at North Carolina, and what appears to be a real risk in taking a chance on an NFL head coach to take over a college football program, and whether that experience properly translates or not.

Gruden’s most recent collegiate coaching experience predates when most NCAA players were born. It was back in 1991, when he was wide receivers coach at Pittsburgh.

Since then, he got his first NFL job as an assistant with the Green Bay Packers in 1998, and stayed in the league until four years ago, finishing with a 117-112 record as head coach.

Gruden’s coaching career ended abruptly when he resigned from the Las Vegas Raiders organization back in 2021 after it was revealed he sent emails that included offensive content.

Despite the way his time with the Raiders ended, Gruden has consistently expressed his desire to return to coaching and says he has been educating himself on the state of college football in the modern era, including recruiting tactics, how NIL deals work, and the intricacies of the transfer portal.

Gruden wants back in coaching

Gruden hasn’t been shy about reminding people that he remains in touch with the game, and that he is still interested in taking a head coaching position somewhere.

“I absolutely love football,” Gruden said to ESPN’s Pardon My Take recently.

“I love it, and it’s pretty much all I have. I have an office, for the people who don’t know, I’ve got a server in there. I just put a lot of money into a server that collects all the film and allows me to study them.”

He added, notably: “Who knows what will happen, but I’m preparing myself as always to coach. But behind the scenes, we’re getting plenty of football, I promise you.”

Gruden would 'die to coach in the SEC'

Gruden did not mince words back during the offseason when he told a group of SEC supports just how much he wants to get back into the game, especially in this conference.

“The only reason I really came here is I want to coach again,” Gruden told listeners during a speaking engagement with the Georgia Bulldogs program.

“I’m being honest with you. I do not bulls--t, either. I want to coach again. I’d die to coach in the SEC. I would love it. I would f-cking love it.”

(SI)