Jon Gruden Aug 29, 2021; Santa Clara, California, USA; Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden walks onto the field before the start of the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
By Reice Shipley on

It has been nearly four years since former NFL head coach Jon Gruden has been on the sidelines coaching in the NFL. But according to NFL insider Ian Rapaport, a return to coaching at the NFL level is at least on the table.

Gruden famously resigned as the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders in 2021 after emails leaked showing him using homophobic and misogynistic language that caused an uproar of outrage from countless football fans.

However, since his time in the NFL, Gruden has been doing plenty to repair his image in the public eye, most notably accepting a position at Barstool Sports, where he has been a content creator for the company for around a year now.

Earlier this week, Gruden made it incredibly clear that he would like to return to coaching, whether that be at the NFL level or elsewhere. And according to Ian Rapaport, the possibility of Gruden returning to coach in the NFL as an assistant is something that several teams have discussed.

“There’s still some legal issues that need to be worked through,” Rapoport said during an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show. “Now, if somebody wants to hire him, my sense is if there would be things where everybody could get together on the legal side and figure it out and either compromise or settle it, handle it, whatever, perhaps. I’m sure there’s some interest. I haven’t heard any team particularly trying to hire him as a head coach. I did know there were some teams that thought about hiring him as a coordinator, which, would be hard to have a better hire than that as a coordinator.

“I would say, to me – as someone who likes football content, as much as football – I kind of like him where he is, to be honest. That’s just, like, selfish. He’s in a great spot. I think his stuff is really good. But I wouldn’t rule it out. I really wouldn’t.”

Naturally, many fans took to social media to share how they feel about a potential return to coaching for Gruden, with many hoping that he does get his one last shot to coach at the NFL level.

About Reice Shipley

Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.

View all posts by Reice Shipley