On Nov. 14, Barstool Sports announced the addition of Jon Gruden, a former NFL head coach and ESPN commentator.
The firm did not define Gruden’s role in the announcement, but it did upload a video on its website showing him explaining a play named “Spider Y 2 Banana” to other Barstool workers.
Barstool Sports has announced that they’ve signed former NFL head coach Jon Gruden to a multi-year deal.pic.twitter.com/kFaDUIpCoy
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) November 14, 2024
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won their first Super Bowl under then-head coach Jon Gruden in 2001 after Tony Dungy left the team. His first-ever Super Bowl was much sweeter than most because he defeated his old team, the Oakland Raiders, to win the Lombardi Trophy. This was the only Super Bowl in franchise history — until Tom Brady came to town and won one in 2020.
After failing to make it to another Super Bowl during his remaining years as head coach of the Buccaneers or Raiders, Gruden has had a difficult time since those great years in the early 2000s. His NFL career ended in 2021, when he was compelled to step down as head coach of Las Vegas when it was exposed that he had sent emails using offensive language that included him being sexist, homophobic and racist. In between coaching gigs, Gruden worked as an analyst for ESPN on “Monday Night Football” from 2009-17. He hasn’t been able to get another NFL job since.
Gruden — who is now 61 — filed a lawsuit against the NFL a month after he left the Raiders, claiming that the organization was engaged in a “malicious and orchestrated campaign” to destroy his career because those emails were made public. Gruden also received word from the Nevada Supreme Court that they will rehear the case. If this is true, the NFL would surely file an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court if he wins the case, which would further drag out this entire situation.
In the midst of the NFL drama, it will be interesting to see how Barstool Sports will use Gruden. He is a very talented football mind, so they plan to take advantage of that during the rest of the NFL season and playoffs, but in what way? Will he start a new Barstool Sports football podcast? Or maybe take a Shannon Sharpe- or Cam Newton-like role as they have on ESPN’s “First Take,” where they appear on select days.
