Sports
No Redskins in 2010 - Gruden to stay at ESPN
By: Jim Williams
Examiner Sports Columnist
11/16/09 10:09 AM EST
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| Former coach Jon Gruden has signed a multi-year deal with ESPN, making his chances of becoming Redskins' head coach less likely. |
Many reports had former Raiders and Bucs head coach Jon Gruden being a possible candidate for the Redskins' head coaching job at the end of the season. However, it looks like he will be staying in the broadcast booth for a while.
The Super Bowl-winning head coach, who joined ESPN in May as a Monday Night Football analyst, has agreed to an exclusive multi-year agreement with the company — meaning Gruden has made a commitment to remain with ESPN.
In addition to his MNF role alongside play-by-play commentator Mike Tirico and analyst Ron Jaworski, Gruden will appear on ESPN’s NFL Draft and Super Bowl week coverage, among other platforms, and he will call the 2010 NFL Pro Bowl in South Florida on Jan. 31. Gruden will serve as an analyst for ESPN Radio’s 2010 Rose Bowl and Bowl Championship Series (BCS) title game broadcasts, where he will team with Tirico, and he will be part of SportsCenter coverage leading up to the ESPN on ABC telecasts of both games.
"Working with Mike, Jaws and our entire Monday Night Football team is the most fun I have had in years, and I am fired up to make this long-term commitment to ESPN," said Gruden. “Monday Night Football is special and I look forward to remaining a part of it and continuing to call these great games.”
Norby Williamson, executive vice president, production, added: “Jon has truly reinvented himself, from a Super Bowl-winning head coach to one of the foremost NFL analysts in the business, and the reaction has been overwhelmingly positive. We are thrilled with his commitment to ESPN, which ensures that Jon will continue on Monday Night Football with Mike and Jaws, and he will have the opportunity to do even more with ESPN.”
Gruden served as an NFL head coach for 11 seasons with the Oakland Raiders (1998-2001) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2002-08). He compiled a career record of 100-85 and led his teams to five division titles. Gruden’s best season was 2002 when the Buccaneers finished the regular season 12-4 and captured the Super Bowl XXXVII title with a 48-21 victory over the Raiders, the team he had coached just one season earlier. At the time, the championship made then 38-year-old Gruden the youngest head coach ever to win a Super Bowl.
Gruden began his NFL coaching career in 1990 with the San Francisco 49ers as an assistant in charge of quality control. He quickly ascended through the ranks, also serving as the Green Bay Packers wide receivers coach (1992-94) and the Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator (1995-97).
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