The New Orleans Saints could reunite two former Las Vegas Raiders members after a disappointing 2023 NFL season. Jon Gruden might be returning to the sidelines on Sundays as a coaching staff member.
If the Saints decide to hire Gruden, it would reunite him with former Raiders quarterback Derek Carr. The duo spent three-plus seasons in Oakland/Las Vegas, and while there were high hopes the two could bring the Silver and Black to prominence, they didn’t.
Why are the Saints considering hiring Jon Gruden?
NOLA’s Jeff Duncan reported on Monday, citing sources, that the Saints expect changes to the coaching staff in the wake of their disappointing 2023 season, and Gruden is being considered a possible addition.
Furthermore, Duncan notes that Gruden recently met with Saints officials while the team was on their Week 17 road trip to Tampa, where Gruden owns a home. He actively participated in a team meeting the night before the Saints’ game against the Buccaneers and dined with the staff.
It’s unclear what the visit with the 60-year-old in Tampa entails. However, both parties have a mutual interest if Gruden doesn’t secure a head coaching offer in the upcoming NFL hiring cycle.
During his end-of-season press conference on Monday, Saints head coach Dennis Allen refused to delve into details when questioned about potential changes to the team’s offensive coaching staff. He asserted that he and the team’s brain trust would thoroughly assess the 2023 season and examine everything during this week’s upcoming meeting.
What role would the former Raiders head coach have?
So, what position would Gruden have if he headed to New Orleans? Duncan reports that the Super Bowl champion is likely to join the Saints offensive staff as an addition, not taking over the role of offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael or any other existing coaching position.
Gruden and Carr share a strong relationship, with the 32-year-old surpassing 4,000 passing yards in each of the four seasons he played under Gruden. Additionally, Carr achieved the two highest passer efficiency ratings of his career in 2019 (100.8) and 2020 (101.4).
In 2021, he stepped down as the head coach in Las Vegas when news reports exposed racist, sexist, and homophobic emails he had sent during his tenure as an ESPN announcer.
These emails, which were sent to former Washington Commanders executive Bruce Allen, spanned from 2011 to 2018 and came to light as part of the NFL’s investigation into the workplace culture of the Washington football team.
*Top Photo: Mark Brown/Getty Images