College football doesn’t lack for interesting characters.
One coach who could bring all the charisma and then some is sitting on the sideline waiting for the perfect opportunity.
Jon Gruden, once a kingmaker in the NFL and now a personality at Barstool Sports, has a new message for college football’s powerbrokers: he’s ready for a comeback.
“I absolutely love football,” Gruden said on Barstool’s “Pardon My Take.” “Who knows what will happen, but I’m preparing myself as always to coach. But, behind the scenes, we’re getting plenty of football. I promise you.”
The timing hardly seems accidental. As firings pile up and major programs like Penn State and Arkansas hunt for new leaders, Gruden’s name, for the first time in years, is swirling at the center of the college football conversation.
Gruden hasn’t paced a college sideline since 1991, when he was a young assistant at Pittsburgh. In the decades since, he’s built a career on NFL highs, most famously winning a Super Bowl with Tampa Bay in 2003, and lows, resigning from the Las Vegas Raiders in 2021 after emails containing insensitive and offensive language surfaced during an NFL investigation.
The fallout from that scandal forced Gruden out and cast a long shadow over his future in coaching.
Yet, the current churn in the college coaching ranks has a way of resurrecting old names.
This October, the carousel has spun with unusual speed. James Franklin, Trent Dilfer, and Trent Bray are the latest to join the ranks of the unemployed, and vacancies at power conferences schools like Penn State, Arkansas, and UCLA have set off a national guessing game. Into this breach steps Gruden, whose NFL pedigree and TV charisma could lure even the most risk-averse athletic director.
Rumors surfaced in Fayetteville last week, with some Razorback boosters reportedly intrigued by Gruden’s availability.
The speculation is hardly limited to one corner of the SEC. In August, Gruden reportedly told Georgia players he would “die to coach in the SEC,” expressing admiration for the league’s intensity and the growing competition with Texas and Oklahoma now in the mix.
Gruden’s candidacy is not without baggage.
The email scandal that ended his Raiders tenure remains fresh in the minds of many school officials and fans. The messages, which contained racist, misogynistic, and homophobic language, were published during a broader probe into the Washington Commanders’ workplace.
Since then, Gruden has apologized and launched a legal battle against the NFL, arguing that his emails were selectively leaked to force his resignation.
“I’m eager to discover the truth,” he told reporters earlier this year.
Despite the controversy, Gruden’s football mind has never been in doubt. He’s spent the last year as “Head Coach” at Barstool Sports, analyzing games and breaking down schemes for a new generation of fans.
“We’re getting plenty of football,” he repeated last week, hinting that his competitive fire never left. Barstool’s irreverent platform has given Gruden a soft landing and a place to rebuild his public image, but it’s also made it easier for him to stay connected to the sport’s culture and trends.
The question, then, is whether college football is ready to welcome Gruden back into its coaching fraternity. The 2025 coaching carousel is especially brutal, with at least eight high-profile jobs open and more firings likely before season’s end.
The stakes are immense: new media revenue, expanded playoff spots, and the challenge of managing rosters in the NIL and transfer portal era have made the role of head coach even more demanding.
For some schools, Gruden’s NFL chops are a tantalizing prospect.
“He’s a name who can recruit, motivate, and bring instant credibility,” said one industry insider. “The question is whether an administration is ready to weather the PR storm.” The calculus is complicated by the fact that Gruden’s last college job was as a tight ends coach, decades before the NIL era or the social media microscope existed.
There’s also a pragmatic angle to Gruden’s interest. The college game, for all its politics and pressures, now offers salaries and autonomy that rival the NFL. For programs on the cusp of national relevance, a coach with Super Bowl credentials could be the missing piece. But for every fan excited by the possibility, there’s another wary of the baggage—and the media circus—that follows Gruden wherever he goes.
For now, Gruden’s next move remains a matter of speculation. “Who knows what will happen,” he said, keeping both fans and athletic directors guessing. What’s clear is that he’s not content to remain on the sidelines for much longer. “I absolutely love football,” he repeated, a refrain that was once the hallmark of his ESPN broadcasts and now echoes across college football’s rumor mill.
As the season winds toward its conclusion and more jobs inevitably open, the odds that Gruden’s phone will ring seem higher than at any point since his abrupt NFL exit. Whether any program will take the risk—and whether fans and boosters will embrace him—remains the most compelling subplot of college football’s 2025 coaching carousel.
What’s undeniable is that Gruden’s shadow looms large over the sport at a moment of generational change. Programs are desperate for leaders who can win, adapt, and command a locker room. The debate over who gets a second chance and who decides when past actions are disqualifying—may echo longer than any single coaching hire.
For Jon Gruden, the process of waiting continues, but in a sport that’s addicted to reinvention, the next chapter may be just one phone call away. That phone call might have already taken place anyway.
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