Jon Gruden

Disclosure: Ten days ago, I started writing a column advocating Jon Gruden to replace Andy Reid as head coach of the Eagles. I decided to go in a different direction, which isn't unusual. What's unusual is reviving an unfinished column and reworking it. Why now? Three reasons: The Eagles' coaching search   meanders on, with Notre Dame's Brian Kelly handing them another snub. A few notables - Ron Jaworski, Dick Vermeil, Mike Mayock, Brian Baldinger - endorsed Gruden.   Finally, and maybe most compellingly, I've gotten into a couple of Twitter debates on the topic.

After the Eagles lined up for a two-point conversion attempt in the second quarter of Monday night's 30-22 loss to Carolina at Lincoln Financial Field, they had to wait as their scoring play was reviewed. In the Monday Night Football broadcast booth, color analyst Jon Gruden muttered disgustedly. "After we show them the formation," Gruden said. "Unbelievable. " Gruden's colloquial "we" seemed nothing more than a harmless slip of the tongue, but it came on a night when viewers were busy reading the tea leaves of everything said by the former, and perhaps once again, NFL head coach.

Jon Gruden would like to be an NFL head coach again, and the Eagles would be wise to speak with him, Ron Jaworski said Monday. Agreeing with that this morning was former Eagles pro personnel director Mike Lombardi. Meanwhile, forget about Alabama head coach Nick Saban, despite fans clamoring on Twitter in the wake of the Crimson Tide's trouncing of Notre Dame, 42-14, in Monday night's college football championship game. "I don't have any unfinished business in the NFL ... It's not even something I want to do," Saban said Saturday, according to Brian Hamilton of the Chicago Tribune.

Add another prominant vote for Jon Gruden as the next Eagles head coach. This time, the endorser is ex-coach Dick Vermeil, who led the Eagles to a Super Bowl appearance and won one with the St. Louis Rams, "the Greatest Show on Turf. " "My choice would be Jon Gruden," Vermeil told 94 WIP's Anthony Gargano and Glen Macnow Tuesday afternoon. "... I just think he's a helluva of football coach, and I don't want him to make the mistake I made, to wait too long to go back. I just think he's a helluva football coach and a great personality.

Jon Gruden flew to Oakland last night for a final interview that could result in his being named head coach of the Raiders as soon as today. The official word from Raiders senior assistant Bruce Allen was that Gruden, the Eagles' offensive coordinator for three seasons, was in town for a follow-up interview. But given remarks made 10 days ago by Gruden's agent, Bob LaMonte, it seems doubtful that Gruden would return to Oakland if a job offer wasn't imminent. LaMonte, who could not be reached last night, said after Gruden's first two-day interview with Raiders owner Al Davis that the Raiders "know every hair follicle on Jon Gruden.

Jon Gruden, the Eagles' 33-year-old offensive coordinator, has emerged as a candidate for the head-coaching vacancy at the University of Pittsburgh, sources said. Gruden, whose offense is ranked No. 1 in the NFC, said last night that he has had no official contact from Pitt. But Gruden did confirm that he met for several hours on Nov. 22 with Indiana University officials looking to replace coach Bill Mallory, who was fired Oct. 31. Indiana hired Washington Redskins quarterbacks coach Cam Cameron to a seven-year contract on Nov. 26. Steve Pederson, Pitt's new athletic director, hopes to name a successor to retiring Johnny Majors before Christmas, sources said.

Two Eagles players and two other club sources confirmed last night that running back Ricky Watters expressed "angry words" at Jon Gruden, the team's offensive coordinator, immediately following the Birds' 20-9 victory over the Rams. One club source who saw the brief incident said that Gruden approached Watters's locker while congratulating players on the victory, when Watters "turned away and told Jon to basically get lost. " The alleged words took place before the locker room was opened to the media.

C INCINNATI Bengals offensive coordinator Jay Gruden interviewed with the San Diego Chargers Sunday for the vacant head-coaching position. Gruden, the younger brother of ESPN anaylyst Jon Gruden, is expected to interview with the Eagles on Monday and with Jacksonville on Tuesday. The Chargers job became available when Norv Turner was fired Dec. 31 following a disappointing 7-9 season. "The Chargers are an excellent franchise," Jay Gruden told ESPN.com. ""They've always been competitive.

Ticking off the boss seems an odd way to go about getting your dream job, but it appears to be the way Jon Gruden has chosen, just the same. His agent, Robert LaMonte, took a hard-line stance on his client's behalf Thursday and Friday when Gruden interviewed in Oakland for the vacant head-coaching job. He said Gruden would insist on a decision from Oakland before leaving the city where he was interviewing for the third time in as many years, or...

After Jon Gruden went through a second day of interviews with the Oakland Raiders yesterday, the agent for the Eagles' offensive coordinator predicted a quick decision. "I don't think it's going to be a long, protracted thing," agent Bob LaMonte said. "Jon is very pleased with how it went. He's going to go home [to Philadelphia today]. I don't expect anything to happen imminently, but I think Jon has a good feel about where things are. " Gruden met with Raiders owner Al Davis for six to seven hours yesterday, LaMonte said.

Luke Joeckel has become the consensus No. 1 draft pick by default. In a year in which there is as much uncertainty as ever about who will go where, and when even Chip Kelly is saying there isn't a "can't-miss" prospect, many analysts have begrudgingly slotted the Texas A&M tackle to the Kansas City Chiefs with the top overall selection. Does that mean Joeckel won't develop into a Pro Bowl-caliber talent like many of the recent tackles taken among the first five picks? Hardly.

C INCINNATI Bengals offensive coordinator Jay Gruden interviewed with the San Diego Chargers Sunday for the vacant head-coaching position. Gruden, the younger brother of ESPN anaylyst Jon Gruden, is expected to interview with the Eagles on Monday and with Jacksonville on Tuesday. The Chargers job became available when Norv Turner was fired Dec. 31 following a disappointing 7-9 season. "The Chargers are an excellent franchise," Jay Gruden told ESPN.com. ""They've always been competitive.

Perhaps the most talked about topic in our region these past few weeks has been who will be the Eagles' next coach. It blew away talk about the fiscal cliff, what to do about Iran, and many other issues of lesser importance. Everyone has an opinion, and everywhere I go, people don't hesitate to tell me their choice. From that decidedly unscientific poll, I can tell you that the overwhelming people's choice is "Chuckie," a k a Jon Gruden. For what it's worth, he's my choice, too. The main indictment against Andy Reid was that he never won a Super Bowl, and that is the standard that we judge all coaches by. When talking about prospective coaches, that's the question we always ask - does he have the stuff to make us Super Bowl champs?

Disclosure: Ten days ago, I started writing a column advocating Jon Gruden to replace Andy Reid as head coach of the Eagles. I decided to go in a different direction, which isn't unusual. What's unusual is reviving an unfinished column and reworking it. Why now? Three reasons: The Eagles' coaching search   meanders on, with Notre Dame's Brian Kelly handing them another snub. A few notables - Ron Jaworski, Dick Vermeil, Mike Mayock, Brian Baldinger - endorsed Gruden.   Finally, and maybe most compellingly, I've gotten into a couple of Twitter debates on the topic.

Add another prominant vote for Jon Gruden as the next Eagles head coach. This time, the endorser is ex-coach Dick Vermeil, who led the Eagles to a Super Bowl appearance and won one with the St. Louis Rams, "the Greatest Show on Turf. " "My choice would be Jon Gruden," Vermeil told 94 WIP's Anthony Gargano and Glen Macnow Tuesday afternoon. "... I just think he's a helluva of football coach, and I don't want him to make the mistake I made, to wait too long to go back. I just think he's a helluva football coach and a great personality.

Jon Gruden would like to be an NFL head coach again, and the Eagles would be wise to speak with him, Ron Jaworski said Monday. Agreeing with that this morning was former Eagles pro personnel director Mike Lombardi. Meanwhile, forget about Alabama head coach Nick Saban, despite fans clamoring on Twitter in the wake of the Crimson Tide's trouncing of Notre Dame, 42-14, in Monday night's college football championship game. "I don't have any unfinished business in the NFL ... It's not even something I want to do," Saban said Saturday, according to Brian Hamilton of the Chicago Tribune.

What now? After channeling their energy into recruiting one of the bright minds from the college game and ultimately missing out, the Eagles are on to what can only be described as Plan B. There are still a number of attractive candidates for the Eagles to pursue as their next head coach, and in the end, the Eagles will probably claim that they got their man. But it will be difficult for them to deny that Chip Kelly and Bill O'Brien were their...

Jon Gruden said he hasn't received an offer to coach the Tennessee Volunteers in a deal that would include becoming part owner of the Cleveland Browns. Memphis television station WREG reported Gruden was weighing a Tennessee offer that would give him a piece of the Browns, who are owned by Jimmy Haslam - brother of Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam. Their father, Jim Haslam, played on Tennessee's 1951 national championship team and has donated millions of dollars to the university.

It wasn't much of a Monday Night Football game, but it was a pretty good episode of Gruden's QB Camp. There was no way to watch Nick Foles' performance against Carolina without wondering what effect it was having on ESPN analyst Jon Gruden - or any other potential Eagles head coach watching the nationally televised game. Foles is going to have a lot to say about who succeeds Andy Reid. Not in words, but on videotape. How candidates feel about Foles could go a long way toward deciding how they feel about their chances of winning here.

It wasn't much of a Monday Night Football game, so think of it as a pretty good episode of "Gruden's QB Camp. " There was no way to watch Nick Foles' performance against Carolina without wondering what effect it was having on ESPN analyst Jon Gruden - or any other potential Eagles head coach watching the nationally televised game. Foles is going to have a lot to say about who succeeds Andy Reid. Not in words, but on videotape. How candidates feel about Foles could go a long way toward deciding how they feel about their chances of winning here.