Why Jon Gruden Should Not be a Candidate for Florida's Head Coach

The name Jon Gruden often appears on the wish lists of certain Florida Gators fans, yet pursuing this former NFL head coach would be a mistake that could sink the program deeper than any hire in school history.

From his sideline demeanor and personality to his coaching approach, Gruden does not fit what the University of Florida needs to focus on in the current collegiate landscape. While a segment of the fanbase believes he would lead a renaissance in the Swamp, the negatives far outweigh the potential positives.

Zero College Head Coaching Experience

The college game has evolved drastically, and Gruden’s complete lack of relevant experience and his rigid devotion to an outdated offensive philosophy present insurmountable hurdles. Gruden has not coached at the college level since 1991, when he was the wide receivers coach for the University of Pittsburgh. For context, the Panthers averaged 22.2 points per game that year, ranking 54th in FBS (then Division 1-A).

That same scoring total today would place a team around 106th nationally. The game is fundamentally different, relying heavily on pace, space, and improvisation. Hiring a coach with virtually zero recent experience invites the kind of failure seen when out-of-touch NFL coaches attempt to transition to the college sideline.

Old School Approach

As a de facto disciple of the Bill Walsh system, Gruden is a stern proponent of the West Coast offense, a pro-style scheme. When he returned to the NFL in 2018, he initially refused to budge from this scheme, eventually opening up the game plan only after several humbling losses. If Florida hires him and grants him autonomy, the program risks an offense that strictly uses motions as window dressing, relies on fullbacks, and fails to utilize running backs in the passing game.

Today, nearly every top program utilizes some form of the spread offense. Even programs like Utah, which clung to the pro-style for years, have embraced the emergence of dual-threat quarterbacks and modern concepts like orbit screens. Florida cannot afford to take a step backward in its offensive evolution.

In the era of the transfer portal and NIL, player acquisition and retention require a diplomatic coach. In the NFL, the general manager handles the research and signing of players. In college, that burden of interacting with recruits and building relationships falls directly on the head coach and his staff.

Gruden is an avowed film junkie, known for arriving at the team facility before sunrise to game plan. It is highly unlikely he would take time away from his dedication to tape study to engage in the necessary small talk and relationship-building required to win recruiting battles.

Managing the Modern College Athlete

The modern college player, empowered by the transfer portal, should not have to deal with a coach who constantly berates them. Gruden, known for his explosive temper and aggressive sideline demeanor, would need to shelve his confrontational style to fit in with the current generation of players. A coach who aggressively micromanages or publicly humiliates players is simply incompatible with the low-friction mobility that the transfer portal affords.

Perception and Negative Recruiting

Gruden resigned from the NFL for a specific reason: his use of offensive and inappropriate language in emails. This character issue presents a massive and ongoing risk to any college program that hires him.

Opposing coaches can easily negatively recruit against him by simply printing the articles detailing the controversy and reading them to players and their parents. Furthermore, his last coaching stint ended as a miserable experience that soured many on his aptitude. Without even a scintilla of a current connection to college football, many younger players only recognize him from Barstool Sports and Hooters commercials.

While Gruden’s candidacy for the Gators' job seems far-fetched, he possesses a stubborn segment of the fanbase. For the future health of the program, that segment should allow the thought of a Gruden hire to rest.