Former Super Bowl winner makes telling comment about Jon Gruden's chances of returning to the NFL: "Everybody think they’re God now"
Last year, Jon Gruden stepped away from the Las Vegas Raiders after emails of his from the past resurfaced. In them, he repeatedly used derogatory and incredibly offensive language to describe his peers and superiors. He most notably went after NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and head of NFLPA DeMaurice Smith.
He has not coached since and doesn't seem to have any real prospects of doing so any time soon.
Many are fine with this, as they believe Gruden's mindset and ideology are not fit for the modern NFL. His racist, sexist, and offensive ideas and comments have no place in today's world, especially in a locker room with men from all walks of life.
However, a former Super Bowl winner is one of the few who support a Jon Gruden comeback. Former NFL wide receiver Andre Rison, who won the Super Bowl in 1997 with the Green Bay Packers, believes he should get another chance.
Andre Rison says disgraced Jon Gruden deserves another chance: 'No one is God' trib.al/nh8OmGP https://t.co/vaYTKei0KY
He told TMZ Sports:
“No one is God. For some reason in today’s time, everybody think they’re God now because social media and whatever other platforms that they can voice their opinions. God gave him the gift to coach and it’s up to him and God if he repents, and (God) forgives (him) for his negatives and his faults and his defaults, I have no problem with it.”
Rison played with the embattled head coach in 2001 and does not believe that he was a racist:
“For him to be a racist, if he was a racist, he darn sure gave a lot of black athletes chances and opportunities to put food on the table for their families."
Jon Gruden is hoping to get one more chance at leading an NFL team, and his former player Andre Rison says he deserves that opportunity. tmz.com/2022/09/02/nfl…
The former coach recently appeared at a club, apologizing for his behavior and asking for a second chance at coaching in the NFL.
Will Jon Gruden coach again?
Despite supporters like Rison, there are many who don't believe the former Raiders and Buccaneers head coach should ever lead a locker room again.
For now, the coach is in a lawsuit against the NFL and stands no shot at being employed by the league. Once that's resolved, then there's a possibility.
However, teams are probably not going to want the backlash of hiring such a controversial figure and one who didn't exactly nail it in his second stint with the Raiders.
There's too much baggage on him right now and by the time it goes away, Jon Gruden will probably have been out of the game too long to make a difference.