Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach and current NFL analyst Jon Gruden agreed to a five-year contract extension with ESPN last October. The network even moved Ron Jaworski off Monday Night Football so we would get more Gruden action.
That has barely slowed down the rumors that Gruden would return the sidelines, and Gruden doesn't help matters.
In an interview with HBO's "Real Sports" with Bryant Gumbel, Gruden says he's turned down several opportunities to coach again. But why?
"I don't know," Gruden said via the Tampa Tribune. "I'm trying to figure out where I'm going. If the right opportunity presents itself, I will come back."
That certainly doesn't sound like a guy that is necessarily committed to next year in broadcasting, much less the next five years. While we miss Jaws' presence in the booth, we enjoy Gruden plenty. The state of the top-shelf national broadcast booths are in much better shape overall than they were five years ago.
ESPN has built Monday Night Football around Gruden. But it's pretty clear Gruden isn't building his future on broadcasting.
Watch the full interview tonight at 9 ET on HBO's "Real Sports."
Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter @greggrosenthal.
