Jon Gruden, who previously served as an analyst for ESPN's "Monday Night Football" for nine years, has expressed a desire to move into a play-by-play broadcasting role. Gruden, currently working with Barstool Sports, stated his ambition on The Ira Kaufman Podcast.
"I want to be play-by-play," Gruden said. "I had nine years of watching these guys — [Mike] Tirico. And I’d like to give that a shot, man."
Gruden's prior tenure as a broadcaster with ESPN spanned from 2009 to 2017, falling between his head coaching positions with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Las Vegas Raiders. During his time as an analyst, he maintained relationships within the NFL with the hope of returning to coaching.
While his current broadcasting endeavors with Barstool Sports, which include a YouTube show and podcasts, do not definitively signal an end to his coaching aspirations, Gruden has reportedly been courted for coaching roles. In January, he was approached by the Jets to join their staff, and during the past season, he was linked to college head-coaching positions, including one with Arkansas.
"I absolutely love football," Gruden said in October 2025. "I love it, and it’s pretty much all I have. I have an office, for the people who don’t know, I’ve got a server in there. I just put a lot of money into a server that collects all the films and allows me to study them. Who knows what will happen, but I’m preparing myself as always to coach."
An ongoing lawsuit filed by Gruden against NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell presents a potential obstacle to future coaching roles. Gruden alleges that the NFL and Goodell orchestrated a campaign to leak emails that ultimately led to his resignation from the Raiders in 2021. The leaked emails contained homophobic and misogynistic language, as well as controversial remarks about individuals in the league, which precipitated his departure from the NFL before he joined Barstool Sports in 2024.