Jon Gruden rejects Jets staff role despite seeking return to coaching: report
Jon Gruden desperately wants to coach again, but even he has a line he will not cross.
Gruden, of course, parted ways with the Las Vegas Raiders during his third year of a 10-year contract after he was found to have used racist, sexist and homophobic language in emails.
He has since joined Barstool Sports and has shown heavy interest in returning to football in some capacity, but there is one team he does not want to be part of.
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Gruden was reportedly contacted by the New York Jets about the idea of joining their staff, but he was not interested.
It’s not known what Gruden’s role would have been, but he automatically would have been the most successful voice in the building. The Athletic was the first to report the news.
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, a die-hard New England Patriots fan, said on X that it was the “Top 1 most insulting job offers of all time.”
The Jets have turned over just about their entire coaching staff, aside from the head coach. Aaron Glenn has parted ways with numerous assistants after just one year, including both his offensive and defensive coordinators.
This past season, amid their 3-14 record, they became the first team in NFL history not to record an interception all season long. They also lost each of their last five games by at least 23 points, another NFL first. It was the third time the Jets had ever lost at least 14 games, also doing so under Rich Kotite and Adam Gase.
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Tanner Engstrand and the Jets reportedly parted ways on Tuesday after many conversations regarding a change in his role. They were unable to agree on what his role should be, resulting in the split.
Three different quarterbacks started for the Jets, as Justin Fields was benched and Tyrod Taylor was hurt in his absence, prompting Brady Cook to start at the end of the season.
At the trade deadline, the Jets traded Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams for draft capital. Those trades were with the Indianapolis Colts and Dallas Cowboys, both of whom missed the playoffs. The picks they got from them (the Colts’ 2026 first and Dallas’ 2026 second) are not half bad. Plus, the Jets now own the second pick of the draft.
Gruden sued the NFL after he left the Raiders, alleging that a “malicious and orchestrated campaign” was used to destroy his career by leaking the emails. The leaked messages were from when he was an ESPN analyst and a “Monday Night Football” broadcaster.
Gruden was the beneficiary of a key ruling in his case against the league in August when the Nevada Supreme Court determined his case could proceed in court instead of arbitration. In October, the Nevada Supreme Court unanimously denied the NFL’s petition to rehear that decision.
Gruden worked with Derek Carr after he joined the New Orleans Saints and had a visit with the Detroit Lions. With Barstool, he met with incoming pro quarterbacks for “Gruden’s QB Camp.”
“Hopefully I’m not done. I’m about to make a comeback,” Gruden said about coaching in July. “Hopefully, some of these guys that fell off my branch, if you say it that way, maybe they can hire me ’cause I’m looking for a job.
“I don’t care if I coach at Jones Junior High. I’m going to coach again. I’m still coaching. I’m just not on a team officially, but I do have some private assignments I work on, and I wear some gear when I’m watching the games that nobody knows about who I’m pulling for.”
Fox News’ Ryan Gaydos and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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