Jon Gruden Returns To Knoxville
By Zach Ragan
Jon Gruden made yet another grand return to Knoxville over the weekend, though it wasn’t in the way that many fans thought it would be just three short years ago.
Gruden was in town for passing camps at Tennessee, as he has been the past several seasons during Butch Jones’ tenure.
The former Vol graduate assistant had some inspiring things to say about Jones and the state of the UT football program.
"Gruden: “It’s an honor to come back really, because this is one of the great franchises in football here at Tennessee. I’m really honored to come back, I’m excited to come back because I met my wife here, my son is going to be a freshman here and some of my best memories as a coach came at Tennessee…I’ve known Coach Jones for a long time and I know he’s cut from a similar cloth as I am…..He [Jones] desperately wants to win, he wants to bring it back to Tennessee. I get emotional thinking about it. He’s a fiery guy that inherited a tough situation, but when you look around and see what he’s been able to do, it’s got to be exciting.”"
It’s kind of ironic to see Gruden praising Jones, when most fans (if they’re all being honest) were pushing for Gruden to get the job in 2012 after Derek Dooley was fired.
Of course there’s no way anyone would trade Jones for Gruden at this point.
Dave Hart made the right hire and Gruden is doing the best thing he can for Tennessee — championing the school and providing plenty of exposure.