New York Giants: New Coaching Series: Whose That Candidate- Jon Gruden
Jon Gruden
The man, the myth, and the controversial legend. I would say right now, the temperature on and off the internet about Jon Gruden is one of redemption. He’s a hot commodity that has seen a social resurgence since his joining Barstool Sports and the winning of his lawsuit against the NFL. You can describe him as a unique personality that seems to be built straight out of a football factory from birth. Not for his body type or ability, but for how every single fiber of Jon Gruden’s being seems to be a perfect match to be a lifelong lover of the greatest game on Earth, Football.
With the recent firing of Brian Daboll as the head coach of the New York Giants, the topic of who the next coach of the Giants will be heavily debated. This series will dive into the top candidates that are being discussed to help our fanbase get to know them and see if we as a group can help push a narrative towards the right new leader of this once legendary NFL franchise.
Jon Gruden flashing his iconic “Chucky” face.
Jon Gruden’s Football History
Jon Gruden began his career in coaching in 1985 as a graduate assistant coach at the University of Tennessee, where he also met his wife, Cindy. He then began his aggressive upward climb in the coachings going from Quarterbacks coach at Southeast Missouri State and then he moved to the University of Pacific in 1989 as the offensive assistant as the TE coach. Made a quick pitstop as the quarterbacks coach under legendary coach Mike Holmgren for the San Francisco 49ers and then summersaulted on over to the University of Pittsburg to coach some wide receivers. His bags were always packed to put it lightly…
Gruden’s Entrance to the Show
Coach Gruden got his real professional coaching start when he was hired by Mike Holmgren again, for the Green Bay Packers. This is when he started really building a name for himself. Gruden coached three solid seasons for the Packers and became the offensive coordinator for the gross and hideous franchise, the Philadelphia Eagles. Known for his fire and his relatability with players, he finally got the official call up to the big leagues in 1998.
Jon Gruden Head Coaching Resume
Gruden gets the nod and becomes the head coach for the Oakland Raiders, and the youngest head coach in NFL history when he took over a historically famous franchise that had been making home to last place in their division before his arrival. Multiple trips to the playoffs and some hugely controversial late playoff exits, overall his stay in Oakland was a great success. Enough of a success that he was absolutely STOLEN by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a groundbreaking trade with the Oakland Raiders.
To flex his crimson chin and “Chucky” like face…. Jon Gruden is involved in a groundbreaking trades that at the time could have changed professional sports trades forever. The Oakland Raiders send Jon Gruden to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a package including:
-2002 First Round Pick AND Second Round Pick
-2003 First Round Pick
-2004 Second Round Pick
-8 Million Freaking Dollars
Taking a look at this trade now, it seems like an absolute no brainer for the Oakland Raiders who seemed to be having success, but still hadn’t been able to make the big game. The shot of lemon in the eye for Al Davis on this one though….is that Jon Gruden took his traded ass to Tampa Bay and immediately became the youngest head coach in NFL history to win a Super Bowl. Unbelievable stuff. To add the last cherry on top… the Super Bowl victory had him beating his former team, the Oakland Raiders.
To stop anyone from leaving and taking a nap…i’ll skip to the end of this coaching story. Plagued with injuries and struggles with cap space Jon Gruden was eventually let go by Oakland Raiders. Overall, his coaching career was a huge success…and his style of coaching resonates greatly with the right type of locker room. How his career ended though…is where the real controversy begins…
Jon Gruden— The Controversial Football Man
In October 2021, Jon Gruden resigned as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders. He became the center of a bigger investigation on Redskin’s owner Dan Snyder. The league was in the middle of an investigation into workplace misconduct investigation on the gross old rich man shit they were doing on trips and in the building. Dan Snyder was a terrible human being and it led to his selling of the franchise shortly there after. Back to Chucky.
During this investigation, they were searching through executives email history and someone had come across some emails that Jon Gruden had sent back and forth with then Redskin team president, Bruce Allen. These emails were then leaked, and the Oakland Raiders were pressured into opting out of Jon Gruden’s contract and firing him. Some of the email subjects from Jon to Bruce are below:
-Disparaging then NFLPA Director DeMaurice Smith’s appearance by comparing his lips to “the size of Michellin tires”. I guess they have some sort of rivalry to lead him to be a subject of their conversation
-Emails were sent talking shit about Roger Goodell saying he’s anti-football, a “anti-gay” slur, and clueless. (This is part of the reason the conspiracy of the leakage of the email’s became valid)
-He also sent emails saying bad things about forcing a team to draft first openly gay NFL draftee Michael Sam and sexist remarks about female referees.
All of these emails can be agreed upon of their inappropriateness, and certainly the firing seems fitting…..but the reason behind these emails being leaked in the first place led to a lawsuit. This lawsuit ended in a victory for Jon Gruden. Since the emails were leaked, Jon has seemed to show great remorse, and almost every person, friend, and ex player has came out in defense of Jon Gruden’s behavior. Non-excusable language and behavior…. but is that line going to be strong enough to keep the New York Giants from interviewing the once coaching phenom?
Jon Gruden wielding his Super Bowl trophy after the trade heard around the world paid off BIG dividends.
My Assessment: Jon Gruden
In a vacuum, when I think of Jon Gruden, the only word that follows is football. He was the youngest head coach to ever win a Super Bowl, a part of the craziest NFL trade for a coach ever, one of the best football announcers of all-time, and is by far one of the best online personalities to date right this second covering football and providing high level insight for fans across the nation.
His strengths are his knowledge of the game as a whole, having experience coaching on all levels and almost all positions on the team. He is a traditionally offensive guy with his coaching experience, but carries a defensive edge to him. He’s someone that I believe would not lose a locker room, even when losing happens. I couldn’t fathom Jon Gruden being the leader of the New York Football Giants and his coaching record be below .500. He’s a football savant and a leader of men, but falls in love with certain personality types easily and that could lead to personel miscues drafting etc. He would need to assemble a strong and strategic coaching staff for it to work and to bring us back to greatness.
Probably most importantly would be the buy-in from the team, and our fans. The things that were leaked from those emails were extremely hurtful. He’s been very remorseful, and every single interaction I have seen with him and other people he’s been nothing but kind and well liked, but the team needs to be able to look past it. Honest conversations about what he said HAVE to be had, and if the team can move past it as he has been punished and has been remorseful…than I believe Jon Gruden would be an outstanding hire.
My Hire Grade: B+
LETS GO BIG BLUE!!
