Jon Gruden Reportedly Interested In The Philadelphia Eagles Head Coaching Vacancy

Jon Gruden has worked as an analyst for ESPN since he stepped away from the NFL coaching game in 2008, but if reports coming out of Philadelphia are true, it seems that Chucky might be interested in being the playcaller pacing the sidelines on Sundays again.

According to Paul Domowitch of Philadelphia Daily News Jon Gruden has put his own name in contention for the Philadelphia Eagles head coaching vacancy.

One other name has sort of surfaced in the Eagles’ coaching search: Jon Gruden.

Gruden is doing his biennial return-to-coaching tire-kicking. Whether he’s serious this time or just needs his ego massaged still is unclear.

But a league source told the Daily News that he has informed Lurie, through an intermediary, that he is interested in the Eagles’ head-coaching job.

The source said that while Lurie likes and respects Gruden, who was the Eagles’ offensive coordinator in 1997-98, he has reservations about the ESPN Monday Night Football analyst’s ability/willingness to play nice with [Eagles’ GM Howie] Roseman, who has returned to a seat of personnel power now that Chip Kelly is gone.

Gruden has told people that working with Roseman wouldn’t be a problem. But Kelly said the same thing when he was hired in 2013, and look how that turned out.

For now, according to the source, Lurie is focused on his assistant-coaching candidates, with the idea that if he doesn’t happen to fall in love with any of them, he always can pick up the phone and call Chucky.

Since Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie’s middle-of-the-week firing of Chip Kelly, he has reportedly entertained interviews with current Eagles RB coach Duce Staley, Kansas City’s offensive coordinator Doug Pederson, and Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Adam Gase. It’s surmised in Philadelphia that Lurie was likely going to go the route of a trustworthy assistant from a respected coaching tree to fill the vacancy, but if there’s any veracity to the report of Gruden’s interest, it could be a game changer.

During his NFL coaching tenure that included an aforementioned one-year stint with the Birds, Gruden sports a 95-81 record and a Super Bowl ring.

As an Eagles fan that would love a coach with any kind of personality after suffering through the arrogance of the Chip Kelly era, Gruden sounds like a phenomenal choice. Dude says what he thinks and thinks like he says.

Only time will tell if the rumors are true or not, but I couldn’t imagine Philly wouldn’t welcome Gruden with open arms. Dude is an offensive Xs & Os mastermind, and would be set to inherit an offense that was previously touted as “explosive”.

[h/t NJ.com]