National Football Post: Louisville has the money to go after Gruden

Yesterday the National Football Post became the first national website or publication to give voice to the rumor that Jon Gruden could be a serious candidate for the job that everyone assumes will be open within the next 2 months. Today, Mike Lombardi of the Post writes that UofL has arguably the most important thing it will take to lure Gruden: money.

Last night we reported that the University of Louisville had former Tampa Bay head coach Jon “Love You Bro” Gruden high on their list of potential coaches if (or when) they fire current head coach Steve Kragthorpe. Our report is accurate—and today we received a few calls from former Louisville players and current NFL players that know their school is dying to get Gruden to be their coach. Is it wishful thinking? If you know anything about the University of Louisville and its powerful alumni, you know anything is possible because they have the one thing everyone wants—MONEY.

Louisville is a big-time college sports town, the town loves football and some of the best high school football in the country is played in the city. The school has a very loyal, wealthy alumni base. And along with their wealthy local business leaders, they can move mountains when they set their mind and wallets to any problem. Being a BCS school affords the program the opportunity to win a national championship in football. All they need to do is get the right coach, the right players and they can easily accomplish this goal (As you can tell they are not hoping—they have a plan).

College football is not as it was twenty years ago. Smaller schools, because of the BCS, can compete on the highest level, thus increasing their brand recognition by winning football games. Louisville already has brand recognition from their basketball program, and before Bobby Petrino left for the Atlanta Falcons they were in the running for a BCS game every year. Their facilities are second to none, they have a beautiful stadium with 42,000 seats that are all chair backs and have the ability to expand to 80,000 anytime soon. This school thinks big time, because they are big time.

Therefore, the fundamental question is can they compete for Gruden? My answer is yes. To get Gruden to coach in college will take a lot of money and an administration that will not interfere with his ability to coach or recruit players. He needs to go to a school that only knows how to say one word—yes. Is Notre Dame a better spot? Yes, on the surface, because of the name and amazing tradition. But there are obstacles to overcome at Notre Dame that do not exist at Louisville. What about Virginia? Same as Notre Dame—great school, but it comes with restrictions. Florida State might be a great spot, but there seems to be some questions of who is actually in control.

Even though though Gruden appeared on ESPN’s coverage of the South Florida-Cincinnati game sporting gear of the rival Bulls, I don’t think there’s any dismissing the fact that Gruden could well be UofL’s next coach.

The major argument against Gruden taking a college job is that many say that Gruden has his eyes on an NFL head coaching spot. However, Gruden’s buyout from the Tampa Bay Bucs pays him a reported $5 million per year for 5 years after his dismissal…but only as long as he does not accept an NFL job. A college job, Louisville in particular, is another story.

That buyout situation makes a multi-million dollar offer from UofL look even better, and an NFL job look not quite as enticing.