- Jon Gruden probably would connect with Arkansas boosters, but there’s scant evidence he can coach college football.
- So, if not Jon Gruden, how about Bobby Petrino? No, that’s an even worse idea.
Jon Gruden carried a heavy cardboard box, and the look on his face suggested he’d awoken to Christmas in July. The Arkansas Razorbacks sent Gruden a swag box last summer, stuffed with goodies, and he couldn’t wait to slit open the top and dive in.
Gruden sifted through about a dozen Arkansas hats and espoused the greatness of Frank Broyles in a video posted to his social media. Finally, he reached the big prize: a hog hat. Gruden plopped it on his head and grinned, looking as if Chucky and Cheshire Cat melded into one.
“Woooooo! Pig sooie!” Gruden exclaimed. “I love this hat!”
Gruden does this schtick of opening swag boxes from teams and posting the videos. So, this video wasn’t random.
The internet being the internet, though, took this as a sign that Gruden and Arkansas could be a match.
Hello darkness, my old friend.
Let the “Grumors” begin again.
Where will they end?
Very likely, in the same place they always do: with Gruden, 62, not coaching college football.
Arkansas needs an exciting new direction after firing Sam Pittman, and the Razorbacks could be well-served with a bold, daring hire.
Hiring Gruden would be plenty bold, sufficiently daring and profusely dumb.
It’s natural to speculate about an Arkansas-Gruden connection, especially after he said in August he “would die” to coach in the SEC.
There’s scant evidence Gruden, 62, would be good at it, though.
Arkansas job too big for Jon Gruden
By the time Gruden took a blowtorch to his NFL career by sending emails featuring offensive, homophobic and racist language, he’d long stopped being a good coach.
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.
Gruden’s professional peak occurred in 2003. His last NFL postseason win came in Super Bowl XXXVII. His Raiders sequel soured quickly.
Gruden’s career sank to such depths that he now works as a media personality for Barstool Sports, and he opens gift boxes on video.
It’s a big leap to think a 62-year-old internet content creator is poised to be successful SEC coach, no matter how badly Gruden might want to reignite his coaching career.
In this modern college football landscape, schools hiring a coach need a fundraiser, a CEO and a smart tactician wrapped into one.
The ideal candidate can raise money like a televangelist, can identify, attract and develop talent, can build a staff of smart assistants and ace recruiters, and can scheme third-down conversions.
It’s a big job.
Too big, I think, for a media personality like Gruden who last coached in college in 1991 as a Pittsburgh assistant.
Neither Jon Gruden nor Bobby Petrino is answer for Arkansas
Arkansas can be a top-25 job, with the right coach.
If Missouri and Mississippi can be playoff contenders, why can’t Arkansas become one, too?
If Indiana can unearth Curt Cignetti and enjoy a football renaissance, why can’t Arkansas?
Galvanizing a program does not require a flashy name. When Indiana hired Cignetti from James Madison, he encouraged skeptics to Google him. Arkansas needs its very own Cignetti more than it needs a YOLO hire like Gruden.
When Arkansas basketball uprooted John Calipari from Kentucky, that hire counted as bold and brash, but also safe and secure.
Calipari would establish a high floor, with the potential to lift the ceiling.
With Gruden, watch Arkansas’ floor sink lower than the 7-6 seasons Pittman could be countered on to deliver.
Bill Belichick brought much stronger NFL credentials to North Carolina and just as skimpy of a college résumé, and how’s that rebuild coming along? Not great!
This hire doesn’t call for someone like interim coach Bobby Petrino, either. The Razorbacks need bold and daring, but dependable. Petrino would be tired, aggrieved and dependably dishonest. In fact, the idea of Petrino Part II sounds even more ruinous than taking a wild swing with Gruden.
Jon Gruden could pass the hat, but Arkansas needs modern college coach
Gruden would be a hit with boosters. He’d pass the hat and make sure it came back stuffed with cash. Whatever else you might say about Gruden, he’s charismatic.
Athletic director Hunter Yurachek said at a recent fan gathering the Razorbacks weren’t financially positioned to chase championships in football. Pittman did a commendable job navigating Arkansas away from the pitiful Chad Morris era, but he wasn’t suited to the pay-for-play landscape. A new coach could help reshape the finances.
There might not be Texas oil money in Northwest Arkansas, but there’s Walmart money. There’s chicken money, too, a fact to which Calipari can attest.
Is there enough money to go around, though? Calipari’s basketball program demands heavy booster investment. Baseball matters to Arkansas, too.
Everyone’s got their hand out in college athletics.
So, yes, Arkansas football needs a fundraiser.
Surely, Gruden isn’t the only guy who’d connect with money men, though. Surely, there are coaches who can fundraise and also would come with experience relevant to coaching college football in 2025.
Gruden is perfectly suited to his role as a Barstool content creator. Arkansas needs a coach suited to modernizing Razorbacks football and spurring a revival.
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s senior national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.