College Football HQ

Jon Gruden video has college football fans saying the same thing

A recent video from his Hula Bowl coaching stent has drawn a common reaction.
Joe Cox|
Former broadcaster and NFL coach Jon Gruden is drawing consistent reactions with a recent video from his time in the Hula Bowl.
Former broadcaster and NFL coach Jon Gruden is drawing consistent reactions with a recent video from his time in the Hula Bowl. | Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In this story:

Georgia BulldogsTennessee Volunteers

Jon Gruden hasn't been an active head coach since 2021, but a recent video from the Hula Bowl suggests that his skills haven't atrophied. In one video he shared, Gruden showed fans the journey of a single play-- from a suggestion in meetings to a call in a walk-through to execution in a game. With the video, he started a single sustained round of reactions.

Gruden has not coached in college football since 1991, but since his firing from the Las Vegas Raiders in 2021, there's been a growing chorus around him. Those in the know see his teaching accumen, his motivational skills, and his solid core of experience and say essentially the same thing: Gruden needs to be back on a college football sideline.

Video spurs Gruden to sideline calls

Seeing the clip from a week of Hula Bowl footage, it's not difficult to see why the idea continues to gain traction.

Cue the fan reaction suggesting that Gruden, in the words of Paul McCartney, get back to where he once belonged.

Gruden's college flirtations

The idea of Gruden returning to college football is one that's had several cycles. Gruden began his coaching career at the University of Tennessee, which is where he met his wife. His name has frequently come up in connection with the Tennessee job, but the timing was never right for him to replace Derek Dooley or Butch Jones.

More recently, Gruden opened 2025 by traveling around the football world with Barstool Sports. This led to a stop at Georgia's fall camp, where he talked with Kirby Smart's team about his love for the game and his enthusiasm for competition. When videos of that Georgia visit went public, rumors began to swell that Gruden might return to the college game.

Gruden
Could consistent demand move former coach Jon Gruden into the college game soon? | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

His professional history

Gruden's on-field resume built in the NFL certainly makes him an eligible coaching candidate. He won Super Bowl XXXVII with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and compiled a 117-112 overall NFL record. He did some off-field work as an analyst for the New Orleans Saints in 2023, and all signs indicate that his habits as a football film junkie continue even in his days outside of coaching.

Broadcasting has been another significant part of Gruden's career arc, He worked for ESPN from 2009 to 2017, originally serving as a color analyst on Monday Night Football telecasts. He left the network only when it was clear he would return to coaching. Gruden has worked with Barstool Sports intermittently since November 2024, but he may have left a piece of his heart still on the sidelines, if recent feedback is proven true.

Published
Joe Cox
JOE COX

Joe is a journalist and writer who covers college and professional sports. He has written or co-written over a dozen sports books, including several regional best sellers. His last book, A Fine Team Man, is about Jackie Robinson and the lives he changed. Joe has been a guest on MLB Network, the Paul Finebaum show and numerous other television and radio shows. He has been inside MLB dugouts, covered bowl games and conference tournaments with Saturday Down South and still loves telling the stories of sports past and present.

Home/News