In his most recent online chat, longtime Pittsburgh Steelers beat reporter Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was asked this question: “Who do you expect realistically the Steelers to target in the off-season for their inevitable vacant OC job?” Dulac answered the question: “Way too early to speculate. But a good one would be a [Mike] Tomlin friend — Jon Gruden.” Since then, there have been posts taking that speculation from Dulac almost as a declaration that it will happen. On Thursday, a former NFL player who played for Gruden, Hall of Famer Warren Sapp, essentially shot down the possibility of Gruden coaching for the Steelers next season.
During an appearance on Fearless with Jason Whitlock, Sapp addressed the Gruden-to-Pittsburgh rumors by saying that he’s already texted his former head coach as well as Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin.
“Not even close,” Sapp said. “Come on. I can’t even say what Jon said. No.”
Sapp then revealed to Whitlock what his conversation with Tomlin was like.
“Mike T said, ‘I don’t know who writes this stuff, Warren.’ I said, ‘Yeah, all right.’ Boom,” Sapp said. “He was going to go watch his kid play football down at the Ivy League school. Bright kid. So, trust me, Mike T’s on off week, and Jon and me are scheduling a golf outing this weekend. So, it’s Creamsicle Week in Tampa, so trust me, no, he’s not going.”
Sapp is a very good source here as he obviously has a close relationship with both Gruden and Tomlin. Tomlin, as most of you know, was the Buccaneers’ defensive backs coach for Gruden in Tampa Bay from 2002-2005. So, there’s the link between those two.
Gruden has essentially been out of coaching since he resigned from the Las Vegas Raiders as their head coach in October 2021. That resignation came on the heels of reports that emails Gruden had written over 10 years included racist, misogynistic, and homophobic language and tones. Gruden has reportedly since sued the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell, arguing that the emails were weaponized against him, in an effort to harm his contractual and business interests.
Gruden is still in NFL circles so to speak, as he worked as a consultant for the New Orleans Saints this past summer.
The Steelers still have an offensive coordinator in Matt Canada, who seems likely to make it through the rest of the 2023 season. Canada, however, isn’t likely to be back in 2024. As far as who the Steelers’ next offensive coordinator might be after Canada, it certainly doesn’t sound like it would be Gruden, who is an easy connection to make back to Tomlin.
