Though there’s no specific evidence (yet) that former Raiders and Bucs coach Jon Gruden will be leaving the Monday Night Football booth and returning to the sidelines, there’s a growing sense among league and industry insiders that Gruden will be returning to work as a head coach in 2010.
Already, rumors are linking him (again) to the Notre Dame job. The fact that Gruden and Irish coach Charlie Weis are both represented by Bob LaMonte could make the swap a little delicate, to say the least. Besides, few believe that Gruden has the desire (or the patience) to work with college-level quarterbacks.
The pro game, then, is likely where he’ll land. And the fact that he has been saying nothing remotely negative or critical regarding the players, coaches, General Managers, or owners of the teams playing in the games he’s working is sparking a growing belief that Gruden wants back in, and that he is being careful not to intentionally or accidentally burn any of the bridges across which he soon could be treading.
As we concluded early in the year, the thing that makes him good on television -- his passion for the game -- will draw him back to it. Now that he’s apparently trying to position himself for a job, however, his over-the-top effusive praise has been at times even worse than the worst stuff we can recall from Joe Theismann a/k/a Joey Sunshine.