Jon Gruden Says He Doesn't See Himself Coaching Again 'Anytime Soon'

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Former NFL head coach and ESPN broadcaster Jon Gruden reiterated on Wednesday that he doesn't intend to plan on coaching, despite saying last week he prepares as though he might coach again.

"I don't foresee myself coaching anytime soon," Gruden told Jenna Laine of ESPN.com. "But I do like getting as close to the fire as possible."

"All I really have going is football," he continued. "I don't know what I would do without it. I'm happy with what I'm doing. I study as if I am a coach. I still make my own breakdowns. I still come up with my own playbook—I just don't have anybody to give it to."

On Friday, Gruden seemed to indicate a return to coaching might be in his near future.

"I've met with several people—I won't deny that," he told Scott Reynolds of the Pewter Report. "People—just about every year I talk about coming back to coach. I'm not in here every day at 4:30 or 4:00 in the morning watching pinball. You know? I'm preparing myself to come back. I am. Every day. I'm preparing to come back."

"It helps me in my broadcasting and I think if you lose that edge...you can't come back unless you are totally wired with college football, personnel, schemes, the CBA, how people are practicing, trends, you know," he added. "You've got to stay on top of this stuff."

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Gruden, 53, spent 11 seasons as an NFL head coach with the Oakland Raiders (1998 to 2001) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2002 to 2008). He won a Super Bowl title in the 2002 season with the Buccaneers.  

He was 95-81 overall in his career.

Gruden has worked the Monday Night Football football broadcast for ESPN since 2009, however, and is reportedly compensated handsomely to do so. Writer Jim Miller tweeted in 2015 that Gruden makes approximately $6.5 million per year at ESPN.