I’ve joked a few times on PFT Live that, if Jon Gruden returns to coach the Buccaneers, he may hire former Tampa Bay quarterback Chris Simms to join the staff. As it turns out, Gruden may return to coach the Raiders. And he may hire a former Raiders quarterback to join the staff.
Via Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Rich Gannon’s name keeps coming up as Gruden makes calls to round up potential members of a coaching staff.
Gannon, whose playing career reached a new level when he joined Gruden, became the NFL’s MVP in the year Gruden left for the Bucs. The season ended, however, with Gruden exploiting Gannon’s weaknesses and blowing out the Raiders.
Gannon never has coached; he went straight to broadcasting upon his retirement. Which actually gives him less experience than Simms, who spent a year as a coaching assistant with the Patriots.
Coincidentally, Gannon will be calling the Raiders-Chargers game on Sunday. Which would have made the production meetings quite awkward, if this news had gotten out before today.