This was obviously coming down the pipeline, right? Jeff Duncan reports for the Times-Picayune | Advocate that the New Orleans Saints are considering Jon Gruden for a role on their coaching staff, having wined and dined with him before their Week 17 road game with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (in Tampa, where Gruden resides). Gruden was previously around the team as an unpaid consultant during their 2023 training camp.
Gruden got more out of Saints quarterback Derek Carr than any other coach when they were together on the Raiders, but here’s the catch: Duncan adds that Gruden “likely would” come on as assistant coach, not an outright replacement for offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael. He describes a possible situation similar to the one that Allen experienced as co-defensive coordinator with Rob Ryan back in 2015, when the Saints eventually dismissed Ryan midseason to give Allen full control of the defense.
On top of that, Gruden is actively suing the NFL and league commissioner Roger Goodell while seeking damages to his personal reputation and professional career. Gruden resigned as the Raiders head coach in 2021 after emails he wrote while an employee at ESPN from 2011 to 2018 were leaked, containing sexist, racist, and homophobic content led to public outcry. The documents were discovered during an NFL investigation into workplace misconduct allegations against former Washington executives. A hearing in the Nevada Supreme Court is expected later this week.
The Saints offense improved greatly down the stretch in 2021, with Carr throwing 15 touchdown passes against 3 interceptions through six games in December, while the unit averaged 28.8 points per game. Once Carmichael picked up recent trends and started utilizing more frequent play action, pre-snap motion, and more favorable targets for the tight ends, Carr flourished.
But it was still too little, too late for the Saints to reach the playoffs. If Dennis Allen believes that Gruden can help Carr and the offense start hotter and maintain consistency, they’ll likely make a run at him, even if it’s unclear how he’d fit into the offensive coaching structure (to say nothing of whether the NFL would allow it while he’s actively suing them). Duncan’s report says there’s mutual interest, so stay tuned.
