As the Buffalo Bills commence the search for the teams' next head coach, owner Ralph Willson apparently was trying to line up the team's next head coach even before the most recent head coach was fired.
According to WIVB-TV, the Bills "went after [Jon Gruden] hard." The efforts reportedly included a face-to-face meeting, but could not convince Gruden to leave his job as analyst on ESPN's Monday Night Football. (WIVB)
Mind of Joe
Like I've said before, I'm not a fan of Gruden. He had two good years in Oakland and one great year in Tampa. I think the biggest part of Gruden's aura is that he's a great quote and an intense guy. Yet, his teams in Tampa were offensively flawed throughout his six seasons there and his quarterbacks wanted to kill him.
It's no accident that both the Raiders and Buccanners suffered tremendously after he left, not because he was so good at calling plays, but because he signed too many over- the-hill players and did a poor job drafting. I never thought I say this, but I'm happy ESPN did such a good job in signing their on-air talent.
The strange part about the news was the timing of the meeting. Last I checked, Gruden signed his "exclusive" deal on Monday with ESPN, yet Jauron was fired on Tuesday. Hmm..One would think that Gruden may of went to ESPN and used the Bills as leverage to get a new deal with MNF. Not to mention, the timing would suggest that the Bills spoke to Gruden prior to the team firing Jauron. Or Gruden decided to talk to the Bills even after signing his extension with ESPN, which I'm sure wouldn't make the folks in Bristol, CT very happy.
If that's the case, how come no one at ESPN reported the news? Hell, if you have one of your own employees getting wooed by an NFL team, wouldn't you think Mortensen, Clayton or Hank Williams would know about it? Unless, they were ordered not to report it because of the contract with MNF.
Of course, I'm just being Oliver Stone with all this. The bottom line is that I'm glad Gruden is staying put.
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