Tennessee Vols: Jon Gruden Will Likely Coach Again, But It Won’t Be In Knoxville

Former Tennessee Vols assistant Jon Gruden could finally be making a return to coaching.

I recently saw a tweet that showed a page from the Palm Beach Post in 1997. The page included stories about O.J. Simpson, Bill Cosby, and Donald Trump.

The photo made me realize that while everything changes, everything also remains the same.

I received further proof of that idea this week when I saw Jon Gruden’s name once again connected to coaching rumors.

The rumors of Gruden returning to coaching, or Grumors as they’re so aptly named, have become a yearly tradition.

Gruden told PewterReport.com that he’s preparing every day to come back. He also admitted that he’s had conversations with teams about coming back at various points.

Nearly every year since Gruden was fired as the coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, his name has been connected to countless jobs in both the college and pro ranks.

One of the jobs he has consistently been linked to since being fired is the Vols job, where Gruden was once a graduate assistant under Johnny Majors.

Former UT athletic director Dave Hart confirmed in 2012 that Tennessee did indeed reach out to Gruden after Derek Dooley was fired, but received word that he was happy at ESPN. Rumors at the time suggested the talks went a little further and Gruden couldn’t quite pull the trigger.

But regardless of how close Gruden was to accepting the Vols’ offer in 2012, don’t expect him to be coaching on the sidelines at Tennessee anytime soon.

For one, the Volunteers have a coach who has led the team to three straight winning seasons, including back to back nine win seasons. In 2012, Tennessee was dealing with a coach that was in the midst of his third straight losing season and had completely lost control of the team (the Vanderbilt game in 2012 was truly a low point).

However, even if Tennessee crashes and burns under Butch Jones in 2017, there’s still very little chance that Gruden would be the man to replace him. The two have developed a close friendship during Jones’ time at Tennessee, with Gruden frequently returning to Knoxville for various events. I don’t think Gruden would be anxious to swoop in and replace someone he’s developed a friendship with.

Plus even though Gruden loves Tennessee, that doesn’t mean he’s going to take a collegiate head coaching job for the first time in his career at age 54 or 55.

And let’s be honest — Gruden was fired from his last coaching job. I’m not saying he wouldn’t be effective at Tennessee, or any other college, but he’s far from a sure thing.

The truth is, we have absolutely no idea what kind of college coach Gruden would be.

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If the Vols find themselves in a situation where they’re once again looking for a head coach, do you think it would be wise to gamble on a guy who has been out of coaching for nearly a decade was fired from his last job?

I’d say no — even if he would look pretty damn awesome wearing a Tennessee visor.