Some Tennessee football fans are anxious about naming Jon Gruden as potential head coach for the Volunteers. Here’s why he would be a stellar hire.
New betting lines put Jon Gruden as the favorite candidate for Tennessee football’s next head coach. However, some fans have expressed their concerns. They needn’t worry.
I get it. Jon Gruden’s overall coaching record in the NFL isn’t an “all-star” record. But now is as good of a time as any to bring this man to Knoxville. Sure he hasn’t coached in 8 years but he does miss it.
He’s said it himself.
You can learn a lot from 8 straight years of studying, certainly enough to make you anxious to get back in it. By now, everyone has heard about the mutual interest the Tennessee football program and Gruden had in each other previously.
Gruden was rumored to be interested years ago. However, “Grumors” aren’t really Grumors anymore. He’s actually a potential candidate for the job (the favorite, actually).
Tennessee football has had more than its fair share of issues settling on a head coach of the future. While it seems like the school last saw it’s prime in the late 1990s under Phillip Fulmer, the program has more than enough money for a Nick Saban-esque hire. And yet, they never followed through. They’ve now managed to go through four coaches (soon to be five) in 10 years.
John Currie’s silence in Butch Jones’ duress is pretty frustrating for fans. He hasn’t said Butch is leaving but he hasn’t not said it either. Bringing Butch back would be the ultimate slap in the face to Tennessee football fans everywhere. So you can almost guarantee it isn’t happening.
What we do know about Currie, though, is he is all about long-term; something Butch Jones is definitely NOT for Tennessee’s football program. Gruden could be. Here’s why.
GRUDEN LIKES TO WIN. GRUDEN HATES TO LOSE.
Overall, Gruden’s coaching record in the NFL came out to .540. While this may seem like a mediocre statistic, consider this. His tenure with the Oakland Raiders was pretty solid. His first two years were both 8-8 seasons. The following year, he went 12-4, then after that he went 10-6.
In 2000, the Raiders were ranked #1 in point differential, meaning they outscored their opponents by more than any other team in the NFL. In his first year with the Buccaneers, he went to a Super Bowl.
I could go on and on with simple statistics but here’s the bottom line. Jon Gruden is passionate about football. This is a man who wakes up at 4am every day to draw up plays. Combine his passion of coaching with his roots in Knoxville, and you’ve got a dynasty on your hands.
If Gruden is able to put up those kinds of stats against professional NFL teams, what makes anyone think he wouldn’t be successful against lesser teams in the SEC?
It’s worth mentioning that Nick Saban missed the playoffs in his first year with the Miami Dolphins. The following year he only managed a measly 6-10 record. Yes, Saban had proven himself as a college coach but I can’t for the life of me see a day that Gruden isn’t good at coaching football.
He won the Super Bowl with a stacked Tampa Bay team. If Gruden comes to Knoxville, recruits will flock and the amount of talent flowing into Tennessee football will be too much to track. The Vols would once again be a powerhouse. You can guarantee Tennessee would have a 9 or 10 win season his first year, then be in the College Football Playoff by the second.