It’s been almost two years since Jon Gruden was fired by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers following a 9-7 season in 2008. Not long after the surprising move was made by the Bucs, Gruden was hired by ESPN to provide commentary on Monday Night Football. He’s spent his time speaking glowingly about players, slipping secret handshakes while waiting for the right coaching opportunity to come along.
Chucky reportedly talked with the Cowboys after Wade Phillips was let go, but nothing serious happened. Apparently he has been interested in the Miami job since Larry Coker was fired, and now numerous people are reporting that Jon Gruden will be the next coach of the Canes.
Lake Lewis Jr. reported on twitter that Gruden will be the next Miami coach for the price of about $3 million per season. Compensation issues seemed to be the difference between the sides — Gruden could easily command around $4 million per season in the NFL and reportedly did not want to take a paycut to coach at Miami. $3 million per season seems like a cut, but it would also make him extremely well paid as a college coach.
Gruden has always crossed me as an excellent coach. He took Oakland’s passing game to astronomical levels and turned Rich Gannon into a Pro Bowler and MVP (Gannon won MVP in Gruden’s first year at TB). He won the Super Bowl his first year at Tampa Bay, and won the NFC South two other times. Despite the lack of quarterback consistency, Gruden seemed to always have the Bucs competitive. He made the most of Brad Johnson, Chris Simms, Brian Griese, Bruce Gradkowski, and Jeff Garcia — not exactly a collection of franchise quarterbacks.
OPINION: Miami is “not a marquee program”
If Gruden has indeed accepted the job at Miami, the big question is how he’ll fit in as a college coach. He coached in the pros from 1992-2008 and hasn’t dealt with recruiting and boosters for two decades. He has a huge name and an outstanding offensive reputation, so drawing local playmakers to The U should not be a problem. If you want to know what the real problem might be, read this.
