During the latter months of the regular season, Jon Gruden’s name was emerging as a potential candidate for a 2025 head-coaching job. A full week into the coaching carousel, however, his name has not been mentioned in any report linking any team to any candidate.
Because he’s not currently employed by any NFL team, the usual procedure of submitting a request for permission to speak to a candidate doesn’t apply. And there can be conversations with Gruden without anyone knowing.
It would still be odd for Gruden to be in play and for no one to leak it, especially at a time when anyone and everyone is talking a blue streak now, Jack. It helps Gruden to have his name out there. If a team is looking for a new coach and it hears that another team is looking at Gruden, the first time might suddenly be interested in Gruden, too.
There’s one caveat to this. As of last week, talk was making the rounds that Gruden’s agent, Bob LaMonte, has been telling people that Gruden already has a job in hand. And while that might be bluster and bluffing, there’s a non-zero chance it’s true — and that at the right time the pursuit will become public.
Still, it’s hard to imagine any team hiring any candidate that no team has been linked to. To date, no specific team has been linked to Gruden.
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