Eagles Ex Carson Wentz Training With Former Super Bowl Coach

Six years after he looked like one of the future faces of the sport, former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz finds himself unemployed in June, hoping for another shot in the NFL. 

And so, he's turned to a former Super Bowl-winning head coach, who, for entirely different reasons, also finds himself on the outside looking in at the top stage in the sport. 

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Wentz is "throwing and studying film" in Tampa Bay with former NFL head coach Jon Gruden. Schefter adds that Wentz, now 30, "intends to play this season and is awaiting the right situation." The second part echoes a report from Schefter's ESPN colleague Jeremy Fowler, who noted in May that Wentz was "open to any role," seemingly aware that there won't be a starting position available for him in Week 1 of the 2023 season. 

Gruden, of course, was the head coach of the Raiders franchise for two different stints, the second of which ended abruptly when old emails containing racist, homophobic and sexist language from when he had worked at ESPN were leaked. Gruden has sued the NFL -- who he alleges leaked the emails in an attempt to defame him -- and is currently locked in a years-long legal battle. 

While it seems pretty unlikely that Gruden will ever coach in the NFL again, the 59-year-old did recently appear at New Orleans Saints practice, as the team prepares for their first season with quarterback Derek Carr. Gruden, of course, coached Carr in Oakland/Las Vegas for parts of four seasons. That's perhaps a sign that while Gruden's personal reputation is tarnished, he's still a respected offensive mind. And that is why Wentz is turning to him with his career -- to put it nicely -- at a crossroads. 

It is, of course, a crazy twist given all the Eagles connections. Gruden was the offensive coordinator for the Eagles from 1995-1997 under Ray Rhodes. In perhaps the most crushing defeat in Eagles history, Gruden's Buccaneers upset the Eagles in the NFC Championship game in January of 2003, closing down Veterans Stadium en route to winning a Super Bowl. 

And now, Gruden is one of the people being tasked with helping Wentz -- a major part of the first Super Bowl-winning team in Eagles history, even if he was injured for the postseason run -- revive his career. Life comes at you fast. 

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