Ask not what Jon Gruden can do for you. Ask what you can do for Jon Gruden.
That is the mindset that needs to be adopted if you want to get a realistic feel for the odds of the Eagles landing Chucky.
Let’s start out by saying those odds are very small. Consider:
Gruden is a 49-year-old mega-millionaire with one of the more desirable jobs in the industry. His work schedule is manageable, his paycheck is exorbitant and his lifestyle is, well, kick-ass.
To cash all that in for the all-consuming, sleep-in-your-office, round-the-clock grind that is a head coach’s reality would take “an absolutely unbelievable package” from what I have been told.
That means a truckload of money, a high-end quarterback, a dynamite franchise, the works.
The news on Friday is that he turned down the University of Tennessee.
“Coach Gruden has let us know that he’s not interested, and we’re pursuing other candidates,” a Tennessee official said.
He would be king in Knoxville, but he said, “No thanks.” It’s not the first time he has turned down a job since heading to the broadcast booth in 2008, and it won’t be the last.
Of the requirements listed above, the Eagles have the money. You can argue, despite the recent slide, that they have one of the better franchises in the league. But they definitely don’t have stability at quarterback.
Whoever takes this team over from Andy Reid will have his hands full. There is some talent, but it is dysfunctional talent at the moment. A lot of ails can be masked with exceptional quarterback play, but where will that come from?
There are headaches ahead, maybe some more losing seasons. The next man up will have to be motivated to push this team back up the steep incline, inch by inch. As Gruden looks out at the landscape from his plush digs up high in the booth, there is little chance he will gaze upon Philadelphia and find it desirable enough to make the descent back into the trenches.
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