After Arkansas fired Sam Pittman following the loss to Notre Dame, the rumor mill quickly started churning about who might take over the program. Few expected Packers legend Brett Favre to be among the voices throwing out names — especially his endorsement of Jon Gruden as the Razorbacks’ next coach.
Favre took to social media on September 28 and praised the former Las Vegas Raiders head coach.
“I’ve always said Jon Gruden is one of the sharpest minds in football,” Favre posted on X. “His energy, passion, and love for the game are a perfect fit for the SEC… Wouldn’t be surprised to see him land somewhere like Arkansas. I could see Gruden being a spark for that program.”
From now until Arkansas hires its next coach, speculation will swirl around candidates, and Gruden’s name is sure to divide opinions. According to USA Today’s Blake Toppmeyer, that’s for good reason.
“Arkansas needs an exciting new direction after firing Sam Pittman, and the Razorbacks could be well-served with a bold, daring hire,” Toppmeyer wrote. “Hiring Gruden would be plenty bold, sufficiently daring and profusely dumb.”
Too Much Time Has Passed By For Jon Gruden
Gruden, 62, has decades of coaching experience but also glaring gaps in his résumé. After breaking in as a graduate assistant at Tennessee in 1986, he climbed the ranks to become head coach of the Oakland Raiders in 1998, then was traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2002. But for the 10 years starting in 2009, the closest he came to a sideline was interviewing players and coaches as a broadcaster.
He returned to the NFL in 2018 with the Raiders, more than two decades after his head-coaching debut. Three years later, he resigned amid an email scandal that tarnished his reputation.
“SEC schools aren’t above giving second chances to premier coaches with a few skeletons in the closet. Gruden stopped being a premier coach a generation ago,” Toppmeyer added.
Gruden does have a Super Bowl title — though it came long ago — but his record as a head coach is barely above .500. In 15 NFL seasons, he went 117-112 (.511) and 5-5 in the playoffs.
Jon Gruden Would Be Arkansas’ Version of Bill Belichick at UNC
College football has changed dramatically in the past five years. Not to mention in the last 34 years Gruden was an assistant for the Pittsburgh Panthers. With NIL driving programs to generate more money like never before, schools are looking for splash hires who can draw attention and revenue.
That’s the same logic behind UNC’s move to bring in 73-year-old Bill Belichick. While the results on the field aren’t there yet, the initial buzz was undeniable. Similarly, Colorado made waves by hiring Deion Sanders, who wasn’t an NFL coach but had the star power and personality to turn heads.
Gruden could do the same for Arkansas. He has personality in spades and would command immediate attention upon hiring. He may not have an over-confident son playing quarterback, a generational two-way star, or a highly publicized relationship with a woman nearly fifty years younger than him, but he would still bring eyeballs — and plenty of headlines — to the program.
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