When the Tennessee Titans travel to Washington to face the Redskinson Sunday, they will be facing one of the top choices for their head coaching vacancy last January.
Then the Cincinnati Bengals' offensive coordinator, Jay Gruden was the first of four candidates to interview with the Titans after the firing of Mike Munchak.
"I was very interested in the job," Gruden said Wednesday, via the Nashville Post, "but Washington called me ... the night after the interview, had me fly up here, and they offered me the job right away."
The Titans never got a chance to extend their own offer. They went on to interview Ken Whisenhunt, Jim Caldwell and Mike Zimmer -- all of whom landed head coaching jobs in the offseason.
As the offensive coordinator for the Arena Football League's Nashville Kats back in 1997, Gruden has ties to the area. If not for his long-standing relationship with Redskins general manager Bruce Allen, it could have been Gruden -- not Whisenhunt -- coaching the Titans this season.
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