The Vols football program has been targeting Jon Gruden for what seems like an eternity.
Every offseason, the Gruden to Tennessee rumor mill begins churning out story after story about the former NFL coach potentially making his way to Knoxville.
After the Vols finally fired head coach Butch Jones this season, it was the perfect time for Gruden to the Vols to come to fruition.
According to a CBS Sports report on Sunday morning, Gruden is speaking with Tennessee officials about the coaching vacancy and an offer of up to $10 million could be on the table.
However, it seems like the key piece for Tennessee to land Gruden would be USC offensive coordinator and former Vols national championship winning quarterback Tee Martin, who is an exceptional recruiter.
From CBS Sports:
Part of securing Gruden for the position would include luring former Volunteers quarterback Tee Martin back to Tennessee to serve as a chief recruiter for Gruden, according to sources, and the deal, if reached, would be worth upwards of $10M per season for Gruden, with another $8M per season reserved for the salaries of his staff. Gruden has resisted the urge to coach in college in the past and some close to him believe he would prefer to land an NFL job if he is to return to coaching, but the Tennessee job has a particular allure to him, according to some close to Gruden, and his wife was a former cheerleader at the school.
Despite the growing rumors, there are still those who are skeptical that Gruden will leave the Monday Night Football booth.
We should find out sooner rather than later whether Gruden will be making his return to coaching, but the one thing that is clear is the time is now if Gruden is going to ever lead the Vols.
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