The Oakland Raiders hired Jon Gruden before the 2018 NFL season for his second stint with the franchise. He led the team through their transition to Las Vegas before abruptly being fired in 2021.
Gruden made a guest appearance at a Detroit Lions training camp practice on Monday, and he spoke with a local reporter about his plans to return to coaching.
"Hopefully I'm not done," Gruden said, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “I’m about to make a comeback. I’m working hard to maybe get one more shot, but hopefully some of these guys that fell off my branch, if you say it that way, maybe they can hire me, cause I’m looking for a job.”
It has now been four years since Gruden's last meaningful position with an NFL team, as the legendary coach works primarily as a consultant and a personality for Barstool Sports. However, Gruden does not seemingly care about the level he coaches.
“I don’t care if I coach at Jones Junior High,” he said. “I’m going to coach again. I’m still coaching. I’m just not on a team officially, but I do have some private assignments I work on and I wear some gear when I’m watching the games that nobody knows about who I’m pulling for.”
While Gruden's second tenure with the Raiders was largely a failure, with no playoff appearances and a 22-31 record, he was responsible for several strong acquisitions. This includes players like Maxx Crosby, Josh Jacobs and Hunter Renfrow.
Mark Davis did not necessarily want to fire Gruden, but his hand was forced after a scandal with the NFL took center stage. Gruden's leadership partner, general manager Mike Mayock, was fired after the season despite a playoff appearance with the interim coach.
