Jon Gruden Interested In Returning To Coaching......With An Unexpected Twist

Jon Gruden wants to get back into coaching, but not at the NFL level.

Gruden resigned from the Raiders in 2021 after someone leaked old emails that were found during an investigation into Washington.

Of the more than 650,000 messages reviewed by the NFL, only Gruden's appeared to leak. The messages contained language some might find offensive about Roger Goodell being a "fa**ot," Joe Biden being a "nervous clueless pu**y," and DeMaurice Smith's lips.

Gruden claimed in a message Smith "has lips the size of Michelin tires." Some viewed the remark as racist. The former Raiders coach claimed it was in reference to someone who has "rubber lips" and is a liar.

The Super Bowl champion continues to battle the NFL in court over the situation, and it certainly appears by the fact only his emails leaked that it might have been a coordinated hit. Either way, Gruden is ready for a fresh start….in college.

Will Jon Gruden ever coach again? (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Jon Gruden eyes potential college coaching job.

CBS Sports published a fascinating profile Wednesday of the former Buccaneers and Raiders coach, and one message is clear:

Gruden is more than open to a fresh start in a college town with a college team.

"Yeah, I'm interested in coaching. My dad was a college coach, I was a college coach at Pitt, my wife was a cheerleader at Tennessee when I met her. Hell yeah, I'm interested in coaching. I know I can help a team, I know I can help young players get better, and I know I can hire a good staff, and that's the only thing I can guarantee. But yeah, I'm very interested in coaching at any level, period," Gruden said when talking about potentially taking a college job.

How much interest would Gruden generate? CBS Sports reported there would definitely be interest, but probably more likely at the G5 level than P4.

"If I was in the market right now, would I interview Jon Gruden? Yeah, probably. There'd be no reason not to. Now, if I was at Florida, no, I'm not doing that. It's not the right fit, right time. A lot of that depends on the right job. One of the things with a Group of Five [school] is you can take a more calculated risk," an unnamed G5 AD told the outlet.

Jon Gruden wants to coach at the college level. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Gruden's last stint in college football came in 1991 when he was the receivers coach at Pittsburgh. George H. W. Bush was President at the time. That's a long time to be away from the college game.

However, a G5 team or even a smaller P4 team taking a chance on Gruden might be a genius idea if you follow the same model as Colorado. If Colorado hiring Deion Sanders has taught people anything, it is that the results on the field don't matter at all when it comes to attention.

People simply want to be interested and entertained. Jon Gruden, who was a hit at ESPN prior to returning to the Raiders, would definitely move the needle.

What do you have to lose if you're a small program that's down in the dumps? Hiring Gruden would instantly move the needle and generate an incredible amount of attention. There might be some negative headlines that come with it, but that's something Gruden will just have to handle.

From a football perspective, the man knows the game and has been around it for decades going back to his teenage years.

Jon Gruden would take a college coaching job. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

If Gruden is serious about landing a college coaching job, I'm sure teams will reach out. Do you think Gruden will coach again? Let me know at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.