Jets Reach New Levels of Absurdity With Jon Gruden Report

What is going on with this team?

Former NFL Coache Jon Gruden have a laugh while attending an NFL training camp session ten at the Miller Electric Center, Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union] | Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The New York Jets can't do much right in the court of public opinion these days, but that hasn't stopped them from doing a lot of things wrong in the meantime.

It's been one dysfunctional move after the other for the Jets of late, and on Tuesday, many thought they reached a low point when they announced they were parting ways with offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand -- three weeks after the season concluded, and six weeks after defensive coordinator Steve Wilks was fired.

However, later in the evening, NFL fans from 31 other teams got their chance to dunk on the Jets anew, for a coaching inquiry that didn't necessarily have anything to do with Engstrand.

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Jets reached out to Jon Gruden

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Jon Gruden holds up the Vince Lombardi Trophy after winning Super Bowl XXXVIII against the Oakland Raiders at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, CA on Jan. 26, 2003. Xxx Axx Letfeat 29 S Fbn Ca | ROBERT HANASHIRO / USA TODAY NETWORK

According to a report from Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic, the Jets made an inquiry to former Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden about potentially joining the staff as an assistant of some kind under head coach Aaron Glenn.

"The (Jets) reached out to Jon Gruden about the idea of joining Aaron Glenn's staff, according to multiple sources," Rosenblatt wrote. "Gruden wasn't interested in the job."

Gruden, who resigned from his job with the Raiders as a result of his implication in the Washington Football Team's email probe and scandal, now works as an analyst and content creator for Barstool Sports.

Plenty of folks online had their fun at the Jets' expense in response to the news, including Barstool founder Dave Portnoy, who seemed flabbergasted by the idea that the Jets thought Gruden, who has a Super Bowl ring, would accept an assistant gig.

Top 1 most insulting job offers of all time https://t.co/WPBhMsUIZj

— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) January 28, 2026

"Top 1 most insulting job offers of all time," Portnoy posted on X in response to Rosenblatt's report.

It's not easy to win over fans after a 3-14 season, and even more difficult when that season extended the longest playoff drought in major American professional sports to 15 years. But the Jets are doing themselves absolutely no favors by bungling the assembly of their coaching staff this quickly in the offseason.

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