Four years after removing him from their Ring of Honor, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have reinstated Jon Gruden as one of their officially recognized all-time greats, the team announced Thursday.
“Jon Gruden was initially inducted into the Bucs Ring of Honor based on his many accomplishments during his seven seasons as our head coach, and he remains a significant figure in the history of our franchise,” the Buccaneers said in a statement. “Upon further reflection, we have decided to reinstate him into the Buccaneers Ring of Honor.”
Gruden’s initial induction came in 2017, roughly a decade after he completed his seven-year run atop the Buccaneers’ staff. He was removed from the Ring of Honor in 2021, just one day after his abrupt resignation as Las Vegas Raiders coach. That exit came immediately following publication of controversial emails Gruden had sent while working with ESPN years earlier, in which he’d used racially insensitive and misogynistic language in correspondence with another NFL executive.
The Buccaneers said at the time of his removal from the Ring of Honor, which includes 14 other former coaches and players, that Gruden’s actions went “against our core values as an organization.”
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Gruden was widely respected while serving as Tampa Bay’s coach from 2002-2008, however, and reconciled with Buccaneers ownership at the funeral of former defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin this summer, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
“I [also] got a chance to get reconnected this season at a game with the Buccaneers,” Gruden told the Times this week. “Some of my best memories in life were at Raymond James Stadium with the Bucs, and it’s a great feeling and a great honor [to be reinstated].”
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