Saints, Jon Gruden have ‘mutual interest’ for coach to join staff: report

After another season missing out on the playoffs, the New Orleans Saints could be making a big splash in the offseason with their coaching staff.

Members of the front office met with Jon Gruden, and there is "mutual interest" in him joining the coaching staff, NOLA.com reported Monday.

Gruden reportedly met with Saints officials during the team's Week 17 road trip to Tampa, where the coach has a home.

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Raiders head coach Jon Gruden runs off the field for halftime during a game against the Chicago Bears Oct. 10, 2021, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.  (Heidi Fang/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

The Saints even hosted Gruden for a team meeting the night before that game, according to the outlet.

Gruden coached Saints quarterback Derek Carr with the Raiders in both Oakland and Las Vegas, but he resigned in 2021 in the fourth year of his 10-year pact after racist and misogynistic emails leaked during an investigation into the Washington Commanders and their workplace culture.

Gruden is suing the NFL, claiming it leaked the emails to remove him from his job. 

"I’m ashamed about what has come about in these emails, and I’ll make no excuses for it. It’s shameful," Gruden said in August 2022. "But I am a good person. I believe that. I go to church. I’ve been married for 31 years. I got three great boys. I still love football. I’ve made some mistakes, but I don’t think anybody in here hasn’t. And I just ask for forgiveness, and hopefully I get another shot."

Head coach Jon Gruden of the Las Vegas Raiders talks with quarterback Derek Carr during a game against the Miami Dolphins at Allegiant Stadium Sept. 26, 2021, in Las Vegas. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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Gruden also says there is "a lot of misunderstanding out there" and even said he has a hard time watching the network he used to work for.

"Hell, I worked at ESPN for nine years. I worked hard at that job," he said. "I don’t even want to watch the channel anymore because I don’t believe that everything [they say] is true. I know a lot of it is just trying to get people to watch. But I think we gotta get back to reality."

Gruden coached the Raiders in the AFC championship game in 2000. In his first year as the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he won the 2003 Super Bowl over his former team. 

Oakland Raiders head coach Jon Gruden against the Jacksonville Jaguars during the Raiders' final game at the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum before relocating to Las Vegas for the 2020 season. (Kirby Lee/USA Today Sports)

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He was added to the Bucs' Ring of Honor in 2017 but was removed in 2021 amid the scandal.

New Orleans went 9-8 this season in Carr's first season under center, but the Bucs had the tiebreaker to win the NFC South.

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