Raise your hand if you saw this one coming form a mile away. Per NOLA.com's Jeff Duncan, the New Orleans Saints and former NFL head coach Jon Gruden have mutual interest in joining forces in 2024. Duncan highlighted that the team and Gruden have had several points over contact through the 2023 calendar year.
Gruden attended training camp and minicamp practices as a non-paid observer ahead of the 2023 season. The reasons for the visit mostly tied to his connection with starting quarterback Derek Carr. Gruden and Carr worked together as a coach-quarterback duo from 2018 through the first five games of the 2021 season.
GRUDEN AND SAINT MET AGAIN
Gruden and the Saints met again, per Duncan, while the team was in Tampa for their Week 17 win over the Buccaneers. So clearly the Saints and Gruden at the very least enjoy each other's company.
But obviously these meetings and his consistent presence with and around the organization go much deeper than that. Adding Gruden to the staff always felt like a possibility from the moment he first arrived on a visit in New Orleans.
The interesting thing is that he may not join at a large role. By title at least. Duncan outlines that Gruden's addition to the staff would be a true addition. Not necessarily replacing anyone on staff, offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael included.
GRUDEN AND CARR
New Orleans worked out a similar arrangement when now head coach Dennis Allen when he rejoined the staff in 2015 at the team's senior defensive assistant. Allen would go on to be promoted as the team's defensive coordinator and in 2022, their head coach. Perhaps a similar starting place will be created for Gruden should he join the staff in 2024. The on-field impact is clear, especially with his connection with Carr.
In each of his three full seasons with Gruden, Carr finished with over 4,000 passing yards and in 2018 and 2019 set career highs in completion percentage. He also threw for 10 or fewer interceptions in each of those seasons as well.
Unfortunately though, the story is not as simple as what Gruden brings from the football perspective. Off-the-field issues are now at the forefront of most NFL fans' minds when the Super Bowl-winning head coach comes up in conversation. And rightfully so.
GRUDEN'S PAST ISSUES
Gruden resigned from the Las Vegas Raiders partway through the 2021 season after emails surfaced of him using pointedly racist, homophobic and misogynistic slurs.
The emails were uncovered in an NFL investigation of the Washington Commanders franchise with the emails dating back from 2011 to 2018. The Buccaneers even went so far as to remove his name from their ring of honor after the emails were made public by The New York Times.
Whether parties choose to focus solely on Gruden's football contributions or not, all of these elements are a part of a complex story. No lone decision is one-dimensional for better or for worse.
The Saints, like any NFL organization would, are likely to focus the decision to potentially add Gruden to their staff on what contributions he could provide to their success. But with that would bring a fair amount of baggage they will have to be prepared to navigate in the process.
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