Reports: Jon Gruden reaching out to former UT players to join his staff

Multiple reports around Tennessee are coalescing around one key element to the coaching search: Jon Gruden is reaching out to former Tennessee players and coaches about the possibility of joining his potential staff in Knoxville.

Houston Kress of FOX Sports Knoxville and John Brice’s blog Brice’s Views From Rocky Top are each reporting that Gruden is doing just that. Brice’s Views, citing six different sources, also noted that Gruden is considering this position “more seriously” than ever before.

Gruden, of course, is a Super Bowl-winning coach who is the current analyst on Monday Night Football. He was a Tennessee assistant in the 1980s.

If Gruden passes on Tennessee, Brice’s Views reported that Mississippi State’s Dan Mullen and Central Florida’s Scott Frost emerge as two of the Vols’ likely top targets. Other names to consider are Oregon’s Willie Taggert and Memphis’ Mike Norvell, along with Alabama defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt.

Gruden has reached out to quite a few folks. But it’s not two former Vols players/coaches. It’s now at least six, fwiw.

— Houston Kress (@VolRumorMill) November 13, 2017

Keith Farner

A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.