So it turns out one of the names the New York Jets explored to step in for the now departed Tanner Engstrand was former Raiders and Buccaneers head coach John Gruden, but he had no interest in the job. This, according to Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic.
It has been rumored for weeks now that the Jets would look to make upgrades to a staff that was short on experience and/or results in 2025, but it was obviously going to be tough to bring in a big name. If Rosenblatt is right, the Jets took a swing at very big name in Gruden, but came up short as he opted to stay out of the league.
Now in fairness to the Jets here, Gruden does have a huge pending lawsuit against the NFL and may want that to resolve before considering another job in the league. However, if he is interested in returning to the NFL, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that he was uninterested in being an assistant on a team where he probably feels he’s more qualified to be the head coach. If fact, had Gruden made the move, you’d be wise in betting he would be taking Aaron Glenn’s job before the end of the season.
One of the most respected offensive minds in the NFL not long ago, Gruden made it to the Super Bowl with the Oakland Raiders as their head coach, before winning a super bowl with the Buccaneers in Super Bowl 37 against those same Raiders. It marked the first time in NFL history that a coach switched clubs and beat his former team for a ring.
So there is some good and bad to take away from this. The good is that Aaron Glenn and the Jets are clearly big game hunting with the likes of John Gruden, but the bad news is, the big names may not care to come on board.
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