Nearly 20 years after being named head coach of the Oakland Raiders, it appears Jon Gruden will join the franchise for a second stint. Gruden hasn’t coached since being fired by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2008, after which he joined ESPN as an analyst on Monday Night Football.
“My understanding is they’re interviewing candidates this week and they’re going to let everybody know sometime early next week or whenever they make their decision,” Gruden said in an interview with Jerry McDonald of the Bay Area News Group.
Asked specifically if he was a candidate, Gruden said, “Well, I think I am being considered, yes. I hope I’m a candidate.”
Much like we saw Scott Frost unprecedentedly coach UCF in a bowl game after taking a new coaching job with Nebraska, Gruden also has previous engagements he’d like to fulfill. ESPN has Saturday’s Wild Card Game between the Titans and Chiefs, which will be called by Sean McDonough and Jon Gruden. Should Gruden be able to remain in the booth for the game? Will the soon to be rival Chiefs and their head coach want to discuss their gameplan during the week with Gruden?
In response to whether or not calling the Chiefs Titans game could be an issue, “They played my brother (Jay) on Monday Night Football once too, so there will be some awkward moments and we’re probably going to laugh a little bit about it, but that’ll be cool,” Gruden told McDonald. “If I have to sit in the truck with my eyes closed, so be it.”
Earlier this season Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen joined Fox during the Panthers bye week while Olsen was still on IR. He was added to the team of Kevin Burkhardt and Charles Davis for the Rams Vikings broadcast. Much to Olsen’s surprise, his presence on the telecast upset the Vikings and their GM, so much so that they tried to get him moved to a different game.
“For anyone who has ever been in those broadcast production meetings, if you’re spilling your deepest, darkest game-plan secrets to the broadcast crew, that’s kind of on you,” said Olsen, who has been in production meetings before. “We’re not getting anything that’s really going to give you much insight on how to beat them.”
Fox limited the amount of pre-game access Olsen had and he did not attend a practice, walkthrough or production meeting.
“The notion that I’m going to gain an unfair advantage is crazy. We have scouts at every game across the league. I’m going to have enough trouble on my hands broadcasting a game, let alone looking for little nuances on the sideline,” said Olsen
Gruden hasn’t yet been named the next head coach of the Raiders, but all signs point to it happening very soon. The Chiefs being aware that Gruden will soon be their division rival might look to limit the information they give the ESPN broadcast team. If the Vikings didn’t want Olsen to be in on their meetings, odds are some of the Chief’s front office would prefer if Gruden kept his distance.
Brandon Contes is a freelance writer for BSM. He can be found on Twitter @BrandonContes. To reach him by email click here.
Jason Barrett is the President and Founder of Barrett Media since the company was created in September 2015. Prior to its arrival, JB served as a sports radio programmer, launching brands such as 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He also spent time programming SportsTalk 950 in Philadelphia, 590 The Fan KFNS in St. Louis, and ESPN 1340/1390 in Poughkeepsie, NY. Jason also worked on-air and behind the scenes in local radio at 101.5 WPDH, WTBQ 1110AM, and WPYX 106.5. He also spent two years on the national stage, producing radio shows for ESPN Radio in Bristol, CT. Among them included the Dan Patrick Show, and GameNight.
You can find JB on Twitter @SportsRadioPD. He’s also reachable by email at Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
