As the legendary Gene Deckerhoff retired from his role as the play-by-play announcer, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers already have a suggestion for the replacement. With his broad experience in broadcasting, the former Bucs head coach, Jon Gruden, has openly thrown his hat in the ring to take over his spot.

“I’m available. I’ve got some media history,” Gruden said in an episode of The Ronde Barber Show three weeks ago. “Could you imagine me announcing Bucs games? Oooh, man.”

While Gruden has a three-decade-long coaching experience, his broadcasting tenure is equally impressive. After his seven-year head coaching tenure with the Buccaneers, which included a Super Bowl trophy, he switched to broadcasting in 2009, a year after leaving Raymond James Stadium.

When ESPN signed him in 2009, he became one of the highest-paid personalities of the network, becoming the face of several flagship shows. He remained a lead color commentator for Monday Night Football, serving in that role for nine seasons.

Moreover, his sharp quarterback analysis from the coaching experience became a topic of discussion during his tenure at ESPN, as his show, Gruden’s QB Camp, earned praise, where he would talk about the top signal callers in the league. His good work was acknowledged by the football fans because he received seven ESPN Emmy Sports nominations throughout his career with the network.

While he returned to coaching for a few years after leaving the ESPN job in 2018, the 62-year-old embraced broadcasting as his haven, stepping back to this role yet again but with a different platform. Now, the Super Bowl-winning coach works for Barstool Sports, where he also has a big digital reach.

Given his decade-long experience in this field and brilliant in-depth analysis skills, he could certainly be an eligible replacement for Gene Deckerhoff, who held the role for 37 years, calling more than 800 games. Whether he will take over the role is still up in the air, but the former HC is currently embroiled in a high-stakes feud with the NFL itself.

Jon Gruden’s off-field legal issues continue

Jon Gruden’s most recent head coach role was with the Oakland Raiders or Las Vegas Raiders, where he held the position from 2018 to 2021. During that four-year tenure with the Silver and Black, he got in trouble regarding a huge leak of private and sensitive emails, which was found during an investigation.

When the league was conducting an investigation regarding workplace misconduct at Washington, they reviewed about 650,000 emails that included email conversations between the Commanders’ executive and the 62-year-old when he was still working for ESPN in the 2010s. Those leaked emails reportedly had offensive slurs directed towards NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

The incident eventually led to his resignation from the Raiders coaching role, and five years after the incident, he is still dealing with legal court battles. As of now, his jury trial is set for May 2027 in Las Vegas. Given that he is already working with Barstool Sports, the broadcasting role at the Buccaneers shouldn’t be an obstacle amid his ongoing off-field legal fight.