The Jon Gruden to Tennessee rumors have been running wild since Butch Jones was fired as Vols head coach last Sunday, and it appeared we may be some actual movement there on Saturday.
Many people tweeted that Gruden was having lunch with Vols legend Peyton Manning at Calhoun’s, a Knoxville BBQ restaurant located near Neyland Stadium. There were even tweets that Calhoun’s management confirmed that Gruden was at the restaurant.
My college roommate is a manager at Calhoun's on the river. He confirms Gruden and Manning were there tonight.
— Patrick Murray (@PatMurrayWBIR) November 18, 2017
Calhoun’s management confirms with me that Jon Gruden was at their Calhoun’s on the river location earlier and that he requested privacy.
— Dan Harralson (@danharralson) November 18, 2017
There was a photo of Manning having lunch at Calhoun’s, with the Twitter user suggesting Gruden was also at the table.
@VolRumorMill @Jon__Reed Is this Gruden with Peyton at Calhoun’s? pic.twitter.com/KECq8K48tc
— Brandon Darnell (@bdarnell) November 18, 2017
And the Calhoun’s official account even retweeted some of these tweets about Gruden being at their restaurant.
Welp, on Saturday night, Calhoun’s backtracked on the Gruden rumors, and even released a statement on Twitter apologizing “for the misunderstanding.” Calhoun’s added that “it was never our intention to spread rumors.”
This statement is… something:
We’d like to take a moment to clear things up as well as apologize. We got excited- like everyone. Please read: pic.twitter.com/AIyVvmppKC
— Calhoun's ?? (@calhouns) November 19, 2017
ESPN spokeperson Bill Hofheimer tweeted that Gruden was not in Knoxville, but rather Seattle to prepare for the Falcons-Seahawks game on Monday Night Football.
For all those wondering, Jon Gruden is actually 2,500 miles away from Calhoun's … in Seattle prepping for #MNF. Production mtgs w/ the Seahawks this afternoon. https://t.co/vWwPfnhkg6
— bill hofheimer (@bhofheimer_espn) November 19, 2017
Seattle Times Seahawks beat writer Bob Condotta also said Gruden was in Seattle, and even offered photo evidence.
Jon Gruden was at the Seahawks' facility in Renton today preparing for Monday's Seahawks-Atlanta telecast. https://t.co/VHNurRHCPM
— Bob Condotta (@bcondotta) November 19, 2017
Here's a photo if you want it. pic.twitter.com/pZbiSJ3cA6
— Bob Condotta (@bcondotta) November 19, 2017
So, barring an incredibly quick flight from Knoxville to Seattle on Saturday, Gruden was not having lunch with Peyton Manning at Calhoun’s.
Just another day in the world of Grumors.
Gruden is going to back to the NFL. He’s going to sign for $30 million guaranteed for five years. Even if he get’s fired he could walk right back into the booth on CBS or Fox.