There were several reports over the past few months that linked Jon Gruden with his former team, but both sides say there were not talks about him returning.
On Friday, the Tampa Bay Times reported that Dirk Koetter will be retained as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ head coach for 2018. The Times’ Rick Stroud updated the article on Saturday and said that no talks took place between the Bucs and Gruden.
“But both sides insisted Saturday that there was never one discussion about Gruden coaching the Bucs,” Stroud wrote. “No failed negotiations. No unrealistic demands. It didn’t happen.”
It’s hard to know whether to believe the denials. Going back to mid-November, talks began about Gruden potentially going back to Tampa Bay. Then a recent report last week said Gruden was even talking to coaches for a potential staff.
There have consistently been rumors tying Gruden to coaching jobs the past few years and he has yet to leave the “Monday Night Football” booth. Perhaps one day it will happen, but for now, it doesn’t look like he’s returning to the Bucs … yet.
