“Touchdown, Tampa Bay!” For 37 years, the Buccaneers fans have heard the iconic voice of Gene Deckerhoff bringing life to the team’s games. After the 2025 season, though, he took off his headphones and called it a day as someone to call the team’s only two Super Bowl wins. Of those, one came with the 2002 head coach, Jon Gruden.

The former Bucs and Raiders coach and ESPN analyst himself went on to be one of the sought-after names, especially since his YouTube show, ‘Gruden Loves Football.’ So, when the discussion popped up on who could follow Deckerhoff next, the former coach did not need a second thought before throwing his hat in the ring, but for more reasons than his coaching connection with them.

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

Gruden coached the Bucs from 2002 to 2008 and clinched their first-ever Super Bowl in the very first season there. While his winning over his previous team, the Raiders, was the only major highlight from his seven-year tenure in Tampa Bay, he has a deeper connection with them through his father, Jim Gruden.

Jim was a professional football regional scout, running backs coach, and director of player personnel for the Buccaneers. Ever since he was a child, Jon saw the coaches, the locker room environment before and after the game, and understood the game inside out. He idolized the players who put everything out on the field and resolved to be a coach one day.

In fact, Jim and his wife, Cindy, still live in Tampa and are involved in a variety of Tampa-based charitable causes. But once Gruden stepped into the scene, things quickly looked up for the team.

He is now part of the team’s Ring of Honor after his 2002 achievements with them. And despite being the head coach of the Raiders for most of his tenure as an NFL coach, he had the most success with the Bucs. So, is it surprising if one legend of the Bucs takes the place of another? Not really. But here’s what truly stands out about his commentary, something he has himself broken down:

“When you break a game down, what I wanted to do is try to take fans into a little bit of reality of what we go through,” Gruden said in December 2024. “If it’s the Chargers and the Bucs, let’s start with the top of the line you might wanna know: Here’s the injury list, here’s where they rank statistically, here’s how they play on the road. There’s a lot of things you gotta get your mind straight with before you even get in.

“I wanted the fans to know who the offensive linemen were. Next thing you know its an hour and fifteen minutes on one game. People are like, ‘Man, fans aren’t going to watch all that.’ But the hardcore fans, nutty people like me (they will).”

Gruden is also a fan of Deckerhoff, imitating his various dialogues and behaviors. But the now Barstool Sports analyst himself has a name in the broadcasting world.

After leaving Raymond James Stadium, Gruden switched to broadcasting in 2009. He became one of the highest-paid personalities of ESPN then, becoming the face of several flagship shows. He remained a lead color commentator for Monday Night Football, serving in that role for nine seasons before the Raiders’ owner, Mark Davis, welcomed him back to the team.

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.

Given his decade-long experience in this field and brilliant in-depth analysis skills, he could certainly be an eligible heir of Gene Deckerhoff, who called more than 800 games. Even if the team is looking to bring Gruden back in, it has not yet announced any update, probably because the former coach is currently embroiled in a high-stakes feud with the NFL.

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.