Jon Gruden has been mentioned as a potential head coaching candidate for both of his former teams, and all the buzz now is centered on the Raiders with the Buccaneers expected to retain Dirk Koetter. And if Gruden does return to Oakland, he may be bringing another familiar face with him.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, Gruden has reached out to potential assistant coaches in recent weeks. One person he has reportedly considered as a quarterbacks coach is Rich Gannon.
As Jon Gruden called around to round up assistants, one name kept coming up as a QB coach: Rich Gannon. He has the #Raiders game today
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 31, 2017
Gruden coached Gannon for three seasons with the Raiders, and the former quarterback won the NFL MVP award the year after Gruden left to take a job with the Bucs. Tampa Bay ended up demolishing Gannon and the Raiders in the Super Bowl that same year.
Gruden, 54, has not coached since 2008. A report from ESPN says the Raiders could offer him an ownership stake to entice him. While so-called “Grumors” are an annual offseason occurrence and Gruden has continued to dismiss some recent reports, it seems like the possibility of him leaving his broadcasting gig with ESPN is a little greater this time around.
