Jon Gruden may be persona non grata around NFL offices, but he is apparently welcome at the Saints facility, where he was spotted during training camp this week. The former Raiders coach has worked with coach Dennis Allen’s staff throughout the offseason after the team signed his former Las Vegas quarterback, Derek Carr, to lead the offense.
After Gruden was spotted in Saints apparel at the team’s Friday practice, Allen was asked about his place with the franchise. The second-year coach did his best to downplay things, saying that Gruden does not have an official “role,” but has mostly been observing and providing “insight” for the New Orleans staff.
“He’s going to be here for the next couple of days, he’s really just observing,” Allen said. “There’s not a role we have for him. He loves football, he loves being around it. And so, he comes out here, he watches practices a little bit, and if there’s things we can visit with him about, that he can provide some insight for us, we’ll utilize it.
“But I wouldn’t read too much into it. He’s out here observing, much like we had some other guys out here observing, Brett Maxie was out here today observing practice. He’s got a lot of experience with Derek, so there’s probably some things we can glean from that.”
Dennis Allen on Jon Gruden being out at practice pic.twitter.com/jWOxdojjxu
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Allen said that Gruden is slated for a three-day visit, and brushed aside a question about the longtime coach potentially consulting with the team during the season.
Gruden’s presence is particularly interesting given his current status within the NFL. After resigning from the Raiders after his emails containing racist, misogynistic and anti-LGBTQ language surfaced in 2021, he sued the league and Roger Goodell, accusing the commissioner of leaking the emails to sully his reputation and expel him from the sport’s coaching ranks.
