Jon Gruden Wants A Play-By-Play Job
July 14th, 2026
Yes, Buccaneers Ring of Honor head coach Jon Gruden wants a new job — even though he has a gig with Barstool Sports.
Ira Kaufman and Joe spent a couple of hours at Gruden’s Tampa office on Friday and walked away with a 25-minute interview for the Ira Kaufman Podcast.
During the sitdown, Gruden said he’d like the job vacated by Bucs radio play-by-play man Gene Deckerhoff. But Gruden expounded to explain he’s serious about play-by-play on a national scale.
“I was a broadcaster for nine years; hell’s bells,” Gruden said. “I want to be play-by-play. You know, Frank Gifford, he transitioned into the play-by-play role. I would like to transition. I had nine years of watching these guys — [Mike] Tirico. And I’d like to give that a shot, man.”
For those unaware, Gifford was a Hall of Fame player for the Giants in the 1950s and 1960s before he became an iconic Monday Night Football voice for decades — color analyst and play-by-play.
Gruden is not joking about a new broadcast role, based on Joe’s chat with him off the podcast. Expect a more formal announcement on that front soon.