Why Jon Gruden may not land an SEC coaching job despite his desire to do so

Jon Gruden made it clear in a recent viral clip that he would love to coach in the SEC, but the feeling may not be mutual.

ESPN college football reporter Pete Thamel appeared on “The Pat McAfee Show” Thursday and was asked if Gruden might receive any consideration if an SEC job opened up. Thamel was not particularly bullish on Gruden’s chances.

“Look, there’s 136 of these Division 1 FBS jobs. It’s a 'Star Wars' bar,” Thamel said. “You go from Miami to Seattle, from Phoenix to Chestnut Hill, Ma. There’s a lot in between. I think Jon Gruden could land somewhere amid that. I would not project him to go to the SEC.

“I think there’s just better college coaches available. I don’t believe he’s ever coached in college. I just think that the university hiring process for Jon Gruden, who’s amid ongoing litigation, could add some complexities to that.”

As Thamel noted, Gruden is suing the NFL. That is not necessarily relevant to NCAA matters, but could give some larger schools pause. He has never been a college head coach, and his last college job was as a tight ends coach for Pacific in 1989.

Gruden sparked a lot of speculation when he was recorded talking about how much he would love to coach in the SEC. The size of that conference and the relative expectations, however, might mean schools are reluctant to take a risk on someone untested at the college level like Gruden, despite his impressive NFL credentials.