Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Jon Gruden Has Unfinished Business?

The Jon Gruden rumors on a return to coaching are hotter than they’ve ever been with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers being the most hinted-at destination.

It’s not a huge surprise. The organization has always been on good terms with him. Remember that he wasn’t actually fired back in 2009. He chose to resign and retire in order to spend more time with his children who were starting to grow up. He didn’t want to miss out on that. It’s hard to fault him for such a decision. Besides, in the eyes of almost any coach he’d accomplished almost everything there was to do in the NFL.

He was a success as an offensive coordinator and became one of the youngest head coaches in NFL history. After a strong run in Oakland he was traded to Tampa Bay where he earned the chance to coach one of the greatest defenses of all-time. The Buccaneers rode it and his improved offense to a Super Bowl championship over his former team in a rout. All told he posted a respectable 95-81 record as a head coach before hanging up the head set after the 2008 season.

However, there may actually be one small thing Gruden never did. Something that has a few fringe critics questioning his legacy as a top offensive mind.

Gruden is haunted by the stigma of never developing a QB

One box that the best offensive minds always check in their careers is taking a young quarterback and developing them from project to Pro Bowler. Gruden was a strange anomaly in that regard. Throughout his career as both a coordinator and a head coach, his greatest successes always involved quarterbacks who were established veterans. In Philadelphia it was Rodney Peete and Ty Detmer (both 29). In Oakland it was Rich Gannon (34). Then in Tampa Bay it was Brad Johnson (34), Brian Griese (29), and Jeff Garcia (37).

His two most notable attempts at young moves ended in failure. Chris Simms (25) was inconsistent and couldn’t stay healthy. Bruce Gradkowski (23) never really got off the ground. Thus Gruden, despite being a champion, still had a dreaded “yeah, but” hanging over his name. A return to Tampa Bay now to take over the development of 23-year old Jameis Winston represents a chance to silence the last of his doubters forever.

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Winston’s progress under Dirk Koetter has slowed to a crawl after such a promising start. If Gruden can help the former #1 overall pick realize his full potential, not only would he gain newfound respect from his peers but might also enter the Hall of Fame conversation. That’s plenty of incentive for a return.