ESPN insider Pete Thamel doubts Jon Gruden will return to coaching in the SEC

by: Daniel Hager 08/14/25 DanielHagerOn3

Former Super Bowl winning head coach Jon Gruden made headlines last week when he revealed (during Inside The FFCA Ep. 21) how badly he wants to coach once again and even more importantly, how badly he wants to coach in the SEC.

Gruden has coached almost  everywhere  over the span of his 37-year head coaching career, but has not yet coached a snap of football in the Southeastern Conference. While giving a speech to the Georgia Football program last Friday, Gruden made his intentions clear.

“The only reason I really came here is because I want to coach again,” Gruden said. “I’m being honest with you. I do not bullsh** either. I want to coach again. I’d die to coach in the SEC. I would love it. I would f***ing love it. I’ll let you guys this… what I know about the SEC is it’s getting harder. The SEC is getting harder. They tell me  Texas is in the SEC. They tell me  Oklahoma  is in the SEC. G**damn.”

This quote lit up social media, with fans of teams all around the Southeastern Conference clamoring for their respective programs to give Gruden a shot (whether it’s a head coaching gig or an assistant coach position). ESPN’s Pete Thamel however joined Thursday’s edition of “The Pat Mcafee Show”, where he claimed that he just can’t see that becoming a possibility at all.

“My hunch on Gruden is that, look, there’s  136 of these Division I FBS jobs,” Thamel said. “It’s a Star Wars bar right… you go from Miami to Seattle from Phoenix to Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. There’s a lot in between with the Marshall ’s and the Western Kentucky ’s and Arkansas State ’s. I think Jon Gruden could land somewhere amid that, so I would not project him to go to the SEC. There are just better college coaches available than Jon Gruden . I just think that the University hiring process for Gruden, who is amid ongoing litigation, could add some complexities to that.”

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