Jon Gruden - Pro Football Rumors

Jon Gruden Signs Extension With ESPN

December 15th, 2014 at 9:16pm CST by Zachary Links

On tonight’s telecast of Monday Night Football, Mike Tirico informed the audience that Jon Gruden has agreed to a contract extension that will keep him with ESPN through 2021 (Twitter link). Gruden’s new deal won’t keep him from pursuing NFL jobs in the future, according to Alex Marvez of FOX Sports (on Twitter), but it does take him out of the running for coaching jobs for the 2015 season, for all intents and purposes.

It’s a good piece of news for those who enjoy Gruden’s work in the booth on Monday nights, but maybe not such good news for the Raiders and owner Mark Davis. Since the very moment that Dennis Allen was dismissed by Oakland, Gruden has said to be the club’s No. 1 choice to take over on the sidelines. Now, assuming the Raiders do not give interim head coach Tony Sparano the permanent job, they’ll have to turn their attention to other candidates. Polarizing 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh could be available and is said to want to stay in the Bay Area. Rex Ryan, another strong personality, is a mortal lock to be available as well, provided that he doesn’t join Gruden on TV.

West Links: Seahawks, Raiders, Chargers

December 10th, 2014 at 9:29pm CST by Ben Levine

Following coach Gary Anderson‘s departure to Oregon State, a head coaching job at Wisconsin suddenly opened up. Both Albert Breer and ProFootballTalk (via Twitter) suggested that Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell would be a worthy candidate for the job.

The former Badgers quarterback was asked about the coaching vacancy following Seattle’s practice (via Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times):

“Being a head coach someday is of interest to me. I would say I have thought about college. I don’t know exactly at this point where it would be or what it would be. But I do feel like I want to be a head coach someday.”

Bevell was the Badgers quarterback from 1992-1995, when he set several single-game and career passing records.

Let’s check out some more notes from the NFL’s western divisions…

Bill Williamson of ESPN.com writes that Jack Del Rio could be included in the Raiders inevitable head coaching search. “He has experience, he is doing well in his current job, he is from the East Bay Area and he is highly respected around the league,” Williamson says of the Broncos‘ defensive coordinator.
Williamson adds in a tweet that Jim Harbaugh would be the Raiders top choice for the job, noting that the 49ers coach is a more realistic target than Jon Gruden. However, the writer warns that securing Harbaugh’s services “may not be easy.”
The Chargers signed Mat McBriar yesterday, but that wasn’t the only punter the team looked at. According to Howard Balzer (on Twitter), the team also worked out Robert Malone, Zoltan Mesko and Brian Moorman.

Poll: Best Head Coaching Candidates

November 14th, 2014 at 11:02pm CST by Rob DiRe

Colts‘ offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton and Browns‘ offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan have accomplished plenty on their offenses this season, with each team currently leading its current division through nine games. Those performances could lead to big paydays as head coaches next season.

They are not the only coordinators being rumored for head coaching jobs. Giants‘ offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo has been talked about as a possible successor for Tom Coughlin. Broncos‘ offensive coordinator Adam Gase could follow the path of his predecessor, Mike McCoy, who jumped from a record-setting Peyton Manning-led offense to the top job for the Chargers.

The defending champion Seahawks have taken a step back from last season, but the market may not have cooled on both of their coordinators. Both offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell and defensive coordinator Dan Quinn have both been talked about as head coaching candidates, with particular interest coming from the Jets if general manager John Idzik is retained in New York and head coach Rex Ryan is fired.

Todd Bowles has helped put together a great defense in Arizona, as the Cardinals have gone 8-1 despite injuries on the defense. Lions‘ defensive coordinator Teryl Austin could be in a similar position, as his team is currently leading it’s division based on the strength of the defense.

Add to the mix the possibility of Jon Gruden or Bill Cowher returning to the sidelines, or even the possibility of a college coach like David Shaw of Stanford jumping to the NFL, and teams will have a number of options should they decide to pursue a new coach in 2015. That list does not include the head coaches that will lose their jobs at the end of the season, a number of them will hit the open market with impressive records of success. That list could include Ryan, Mike Smith, and Jim Harbaugh, among others.

West Notes: Collins, Gruden, 49ers, Seahawks

October 27th, 2014 at 6:48pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Former Raiders guard Mo Collins passed away Sunday at the age of 38, writes Steve Corkran of the Contra Costa Times. Collins, a first-round pick in 1998, played in 71 games over six seasons in Oakland, and was a part of the Raiders squad that made a Super Bowl run in 2002. Per Langston Wertz of the Charlotte Observer, Collin had been working as an assistant coach at his former high school, and even secured a grant from the Panthers in order to install an artificial turf field. Our thoughts go out to Collins’ friends and family.

Jon Gruden told one close friend that the Raiders‘ gig is the one job he’d come back to the NFL for, tweets Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network. Still, Gruden has a very comfortable and high-paying job as the color commentator of Monday Night Football and it’s not a given that he would give that up.
49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh told reporters, including Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com, that his club doesn’t figure to make any trades before tomorrow’s deadline.
Within the same piece, Harbaugh says he hasn’t heard anything from the league regarding a reduction of Aldon Smith‘s suspension.
Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap looks at the financial ramifications of Jake Long‘s season-ending injury, and delves into the decisions the Rams will have to make on Long, Sam Bradford, and Kendall Langford in the coming months.
With cornerback Byron Maxwell nursing a calf injury, the Seahawks worked out several defensive backs today, auditioning David Van Dyke, Rashaan Melvin, and Trevin Wade, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter).
The Chargers brought in linebacker Shayne Skov for a tryout last week, tweets ESPN’s Adam Caplan. Skov has spent time with both the 49ers and the Buccaneers this year.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

AFC Mailbags: Titans, Chiefs, Raiders

October 11th, 2014 at 11:15am CST by Ben Levine

We took a look at ESPN’s NFC mailbags earlier today. Let’s now check out notes from ESPN’s AFC mailbags…

Even though Titans coach Ken Whisenhunt previously said that he’d make roster changes if play doesn’t improve, Paul Kuharsky doesn’t think that’s realistic. As the writer points out, roster building takes place in the spring, not in October.
Adam Reicher writes that it may take some time, but the Chiefs will eventually look to extend linebacker Justin Houston. If that doesn’t happen, Reicher suggests that the team could franchise the 25-year-old.
If the Raiders can’t get Jon Gruden or Jim Harbaugh as their next head coach, Texas A&M skipper Ken Sumlin could be a candidate, writes Bill Williamson.
Michael DiRocco can’t see linebacker Dekoda Watson returning to the Jaguars after the season unless his play improves. The writer adds that Watson wasn’t signed to be a building block, and that will make it easier to cut the player.
Jamison Hensley observes that the Ravens have historically kept the players they’ve wanted to keep. As a result, he believes that Torrey Smith will ultimately sign an extension with the team.

AFC Notes: Raiders, Colts, Ryan, Blackmon

October 2nd, 2014 at 2:38pm CST by Luke Adams

After taking a look at a few Thursday headlines out of the NFC this morning, we’ll shift our attention to the league’s other conference and check in on the latest from around the AFC….

Earlier this week, Albert Breer of the NFL Network reported that Jon Gruden is a big fan of quarterback Derek Carr and that his presence could help lure Chucky back to Oakland. Now, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk hears that Raiders owner Mark Davis actually drafted Carr in the second round of this year’s draft as a part of his plan to bring Gruden back.
As Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star explains, the extra non-guaranteed year tacked onto the end of Robert Mathis‘ current contract isn’t the reason the Colts extended his deal. The extension included a reworking of his 2015 salary that makes it much more palatable for the team to move on from the veteran pass rusher after this season, if he’s viewed as too expensive or if he isn’t recovering well from his torn Achilles.
Asked earlier today about head coach Rex Ryan‘s job security, Jets owner Woody Johnson said that’s something the team would evaluate at season’s end. For his part, Ryan told reporters today, “I think we’ll win this year. … I believe in my heart that I’ll be a part of [the Jets’] long-term future” (Twitter link via Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News).
News that Justin Blackmon has voluntarily entered a treatment facility is a good sign that the troubled receiver may finally be turning his life around, writes Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com. In fact, that should make the Jaguars cautiously optimistic that the wideout may return to the field one day. Blackmon is currently serving an indefinite suspension for his third violation of the NFL’s substance abuse program.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

AFC Notes: Raiders, Mathis, Gordon, Jets

October 1st, 2014 at 5:16pm CST by Luke Adams

As speculation swirls around the idea of Jon Gruden reuniting with the Raiders, the Monday Night Football analyst did his best to quell that talk in an appearance on ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike today, as Dan Hanzus of NFL.com writes. Meanwhile, it’s not a certainty that GM Reggie McKenzie will be the person to make the next coaching hire. McKenzie himself acknowledges that he’s on the hot seat. “I work every day like my job is on the line. That’s just the way I am. No one has to tell me my job is on the line. No one,” McKenzie said, according to Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com. Here’s more out of the AFC..

Mike Wells and Field Yates of ESPN.com provide a breakdown of the one-year extension Robert Mathis signed with the Colts. The 2016 year includes a $1.5MM roster bonus on the fifth day of the league year, a $3.5MM base salary, and escalators worth up to $1MM depending on how many sacks he totals in ’16. Interestingly, Mathis’ 2015 roster bonus, worth $3MM, has been changed to $3MM in per-game roster bonuses. Because the veteran pass rusher won’t play in 2014, that should remove that bonus money from the Colts’ 2015 cap for the time being.
Browns wideout Josh Gordon, who has six games remaining on his suspension, spoke to Elizabeth Merrill of ESPN The Magazine about his suspension, and denied that he has a drug problem. “Definitely not,” Gordon said. “I wouldn’t know what I was addicted to because I don’t do anything.” According to Gordon, who believes he was already in stage two of the drug program when he entered the league, he has taken roughly 180 drug tests since being drafted in 2012.
With the Jets still seeking consistent play from their cornerbacks this season, head coach Rex Ryan acknowledged today that the club had interest in signing Brandon Flowers this past offseason before he landed in San Diego (Twitter link via Brian Costello of the New York Post).
While many of the notable free agents signed by the Jaguars in the spring haven’t impressed much during their first season with the team, Hays Carlyon of the Florida Times-Union points out that Jacksonville can easily move on from just about all of those players without having to carry much dead money next year or beyond.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Freeman’s Latest: Pats, Suh, Raiders, Goodell

October 1st, 2014 at 10:43am CST by Luke Adams

While Tom Brady has been taking his share of criticism for the Patriots‘ shaky start to the 2014 season, one NFC scout tells Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report that he believes head coach and de facto GM Bill Belichick should shoulder a good portion of the blame.

“The larger problem isn’t Brady. The problem is what’s around Brady,” the scout said. “Belichick has done a horrible job of putting talent around him. [Rob Gronkowski], to me, isn’t half the player he was. Their best player right now is Julian Edelman.”

As the scout points out, the Broncos have taken the opposite approach with Peyton Manning, surrounding him with an “armada” of weapons, while Brady once again works with an underwhelming group of receivers in New England. Freeman touches on several other topics of note within his latest column, so let’s dive in and round up the highlights….

After speaking to sources with the Giants and Jets, Freeman suggests both teams have only “marginal” interest in Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh. A report on Sunday indicated that the standout defender would be interested in playing in New York when his contract is up in Detroit, but Freeman’s sources think Suh‘s agent Jimmy Sexton may simply be trying to scare the Lions.
While Freeman can say “with certainty” that the Raiders have interest in Jon Gruden and Jim Harbaugh as head coaching candidates, Gruden isn’t interested (at least for now) and Oakland likely wouldn’t be able to afford the sort of salary Harbaugh would command.
According to Freeman, the outlook for Roger Goodell remains “solid,” with owners around the league still supporting the embattled commissioner. However, much of that support hinges on what Robert Mueller‘s investigation uncovers about the Ray Rice situation.

West Notes: Raiders, Gruden, Harbaugh, Cards

September 30th, 2014 at 8:56pm CST by Zachary Links

After today’s press conference announcing Tony Sparano as the Raiders‘ new interim coach, owner Mark Davis stuck around for an informal Q&A with reporters, including Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News. When asked if GM Reggie McKenzie will hire the next coach, Davis responded, “Well, we’ll see. We might’ve already hired him.” Meanwhile, Davis dodged questions about McKenzie’s own job security. Here’s more from the AFC and NFC West..

Davis has tried to lure Jon Gruden back to the Raiders in the past, tweets Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. The owner has previously offered significant money and power within the organization but it wasn’t enough to reel him in.
Amidst speculation that some 49ers players don’t want to play for coach Jim Harbaugh, offensive lineman Jonathan Martin offered up his support, writes Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group. “He’s the best coach I’ve ever been around,” said Martin, who also played for Harbaugh at Stanford. “Even though he might be cheesy at times with slogans and sayings, his enthusiasm rubs off on players and his record speaks for itself.”
After being released from the Cardinals‘ practice squad, running back Chris Rainey signed with the CFL’s Montreal Alouettes, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
Last week, the Seahawks bumped wide receiver Phil Bates‘ practice squad salary from $6,300 to $7,300 per week, according to Brian McIntyre (on Twitter).

Raiders GM, Owner On Dennis Allen, Future

September 30th, 2014 at 6:33pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Raiders’ top executives spoke with reporters today following the firing of head coach Dennis Allen, and general manager Reggie McKenzie and owner Mark Davis each offered insight on the move and the future in Oakland:

The decision to fire Allen was McKenzie’s; the GM took his plans to Davis, who approved the dismissal, according to NFL Network’s Around the League (Twitter link).
Despite speculation that he too could lose his job, McKenzie claims he “will hire the next coach,” per ATL (on Twitter).
While Davis says he’s never considered firing McKenzie (Twitter link via Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle), Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News notes (via Twitter) that Davis made it apparent that the rest of the season will determine the GM’s fate.
The Raiders have reportedly shown interest in bringing back former head coach Jon Gruden, and Davis says he “may reach out to…Gruden and [Gruden] may reach out to [Davis],” according to Tafur (Twitter link). Davis also implied the permanent coach could already be on Oakland’s staff.
A close friend of Gruden tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) that “one of these days, [Gruden is] going to accept these offers he gets every year. Maybe it’s this one.”
Interim head coach Tony Sparano almost left the team after his contract expired last season, but McKenzie essentially told him that he was next-in-line in the event of Allen being fired, tweets Jerry McDonald of the Oakland Tribune.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk thinks the fact that Sparano will be judged on 12 games will help guard against any “artificial improvement in performance” that often leads to teams retaining interim coaches, and then regretting the decision.
Stanford head coach David Shaw denied any interest in the Raiders position, writes Jon Wilner of InsideBayArea.com. “Everyone knows I’m dedicated (to Stanford), that I love it here,” Shaw told Wilner. “It’s great. It’s flattery, and I tell players that’s sign that we’re doing something right here, when they get attention and I get attention. But our work here is unfinished, and I love being here.”