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Another offseason, another coaching carousel in the NFL. Black Monday has come and gone, and now seven NFL teams are looking for new head coaches. Fed up with the current options, every year teams reach back into the past, hoping to lure a coach-turned-TV personality back to the sidelines. Bill Cowher and Brian Billick are two examples, but the real prize is ESPN commentator Jon Gruden.
It was only a matter of time before Gruden's name got mentioned, and it finally happened in the week leading up to Wild Card weekend. Gruden was rumored to have expressed interest in Philadelphia, where the Eagles booted Chip Kelly after three seasons. Gruden confirmed the rumor to be false in less than 24 hours, and is in the broadcast booth for the Chiefs-Texans Wild Card matchup.
Would Gruden leave ESPN? He is reportedly their highest-paid employee, earning over $6 million annually. He hasn't outright declared he's done coaching, and it just seems like he's waiting for the opportunity. Gruden is 52 years old, and can be patient for the right situation. Over the summer, Gruden said on The Paul Finebaum Show that the coaching fire is still alive.
"I love football. I'll be the first to tell you, I miss coaching. But I do look at my job here as a lot like coaching. I get a chance to be around it 364 days a year and I feel like I'm improving, but I don't have a team."
Until Gruden has a team, we can speculate about the best fits for him. Here are some potential destinations, with photos by Getty: