Jon Gruden's been unemployed for nearly two weeks now, and in that time the Bucs have found his replacement, and former players (and a couple fans) have taken turns at the Gruden Piñata. And through it all, Gruden never suspected that his job was in trouble, although he told ESPN's Chris Mortensen "that Chucky will be back and hopefully my teeth will be as sharp as ever." Not only does Gruden refer to himself in third person, he does so using his nickname. Love that.
Despite the setback, Gruden plans to coach again, telling Mortscoop: "it's the NFL, college, high school or, maybe, I'll just be the best damn flag football coach in the history of Florida. I'm now head of the FFCA -- Fired Florida Coaches Association."
As for those players ripping Gruden after he was canned, he'd only offer this: "I'm not the first coach to take potshots. Hey, some people were taking potshots at Tony Dungy when I got here ... Jeff Garcia, Michael Clayton, I wish those guys the best. I hope Raheem [Morris] gets this thing going again."
Gruden did say he's mulling some job opportunities, including some broadcasting gigs. "Whatever I do, I'm going to show respect for the game. I'm going to use proper etiquette. Whatever I choose to do, I expect people to be demanding. Anything less would be unacceptable."
Yes, because the biggest scourge facing broadcasting is etiquette-related. I've always said that Phil Simms would be much more tolerable if he would just curtsy before burdening us with his vapid observations.
