Jon Gruden reveals how close he came to taking Tennessee coaching job

Former NFL head coach Jon Gruden was rumored to be a candidate for the Tennessee head coaching job multiple times over the years. Gruden has several connections to the Vols, and he has an impressive coaching resume that includes winning a Super Bowl.

Gruden was recently hired by Barstool Sports and appeared on Pardon My Take on Friday. He was asked during the show how close he came to taking the Tennessee job.

“My wife cheered at Tennessee. I love Tennessee. I was a graduate coach there, and I did talk to the Athletic Director,” Jon Gruden said. “And I don’t look up to anybody more than I look up to Peyton Manning and Kenny Chesney. Those are two of my favorite Tennessee guys. And I was very interested in doing it.”

Gruden didn’t share which year he almost took the Tennessee job, but he did reveal that he was working on Monday Night Football with Mike Tirico at the time. Gruden and Tirico worked together on Monday Night Football from 2011-14.

“At that time I was having so much fun on Monday Night Football with Mike Tirico I couldn’t take any other job,” he said. “To be in the thought process is always exciting and hell, Tennessee was one that is really close to my heart. I almost did consider pulling the trigger there.”

More on Barstool Sports signing former NFL head coach Jon Gruden to multi-year contract

Barstool Sports owner Dave Portnoy announced the hiring of former NFL head coach Jon Gruden earlier this week. Barstool and Gruden have agreed to a multi-year deal. Gruden was most recently a consultant for the New Orleans Saints in 2023.

Jon Gruden’s coaching career began as a graduate assistant at Tennessee in 1986. By 1990, he had his first stint as an NFL assistant coach. He would later become the head coach of the Oakland Raiders in 1998 before being traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a rare coach trade. He then won a Super Bowl with Tampa Bay, beating Oakland to win it.

After his time with Tampa Bay, Gruden began a media career. In 2009, he was made the color broadcaster for ESPN’s Monday Night Football broadcasts. On top of that, he would help with ESPN’s NFL Draft coverage and had his own series on the network called Jon Gruden’s QB Camp.

Jon Gruden would leave ESPN following the 2017 season to return to coaching with the Raiders, who moved from Oakland to Las Vegas during his second tenure there. However, that second tenure with the Raiders would end in controversy when emails that he sent to Washington general manager Bruce Allen were found to use slurs and shared topless pictures of women, among other issues. That led to Gruden being removed from the Tampa Bay Ring of Honor.

Jon Gruden finished his coaching career with a record of 117-112 in NFL games. He was also 5-4 in the postseason with a Super Bowl win. He has five division titles.