Jon Gruden is eager to return to coaching, though he's setting his sights beyond the NFL. After his departure from the Las Vegas Raiders in 2021, due to the leak of old emails uncovered during a probe into Washington, Gruden has been embroiled in legal disputes with the NFL. 

The fact that only his emails were leaked gives the impression of a targeted effort. Despite these challenges, the Super Bowl-winning coach is looking for a new beginning in college football.

So, where could Gruden land? Let's have some fun and project potential landing spots.

Potential Jon Gruden Landing Spots

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Florida

A group of five anonymous athletic directors spoke to CBS Sports' Brandon Marcello, revealing that they wouldn't consider interviewing Jon Gruden for the Gators' head coaching role if they were in a senior position within Florida's decision-making team. But, is that significant?

"If I was in the market right now, would I interview Jon Gruden? Yeah, probably," an athletic director at the Group of Five level admitted under the condition of anonymity. "There'd be no reason not to. Now, if I was at Florida, no, I'm not doing that. It's not the right fit, right time. A lot of that depends on the right job. One of the things with a Group of Five [school] is you can take a more calculated risk."

Billy Napier is on the way out, and the Gators need a spark. Gruden could surely pull in top-notch coordinators and donor dollars for NIL deals. While his personality is off-putting, it's not like Florida hasn't made a deal with the devil Urban Meyer before. 

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Florida is a big job to just hand Gruden, but it's not as if the Gators have a clear set of amazing options right now. He's worth an interview, but the results of his NFL lawsuit could easily crush his dreams of being at a possible powerhouse like Florida. 

Arkansas

With a 25-26 record over five seasons, Sam Pittman's tenure at Arkansas hinges on how the rest of this year plays out. In fairness to Pittman, the program has played better in 2024 than in 2023. Refreshing the roster in the transfer portal has thus far worked.

If the Razorbacks can't right the ship and close the season with a winning record, Pittman might be gone. Gruden might be a great option here.

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Arkansas has won more than eight games only once since 2011 and has hit 10 wins three times since 1989, and the program needs to supercharge its standing in the SEC. Bringing back Bobby Petrino was a sign of their desperation, and I bet Gruden could pull in a solid transfer class. 

This feels like a more realistic option than Florida, as it's kind of like, why not?

Colorado

Yeah, let's get fun. There's a decent chance Colorado finishes around .500, if not completely burns out over the course of a difficult conference schedule. Knowing that Colorado doesn't have a ton of money in the bank to pay Deion Sanders in the coming years, could we see Coach Prime bolt with his sons?

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Sanders won't be an NFL head coach any time soon, and his ability to get a Power 5 job again is going to be questionable, to be honest. I think the question of where he goes is more difficult to answer than anything, but he could look to return to Jackson State or another HBCU under the guise of having a bigger impact. 

If any of that happens, Gruden could continue the Boulder circus while bringing more substance. Gruden has millions in the bank, potentially lowering what the program would need to pay him. His soundbites and personality best fit the Big 12 of all the Power 5 conferences, so this is a fun spot.

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Liberty

Okay, Liberty doesn't have the cachet as the others here, but a Group of Five team is the most likely spot for Gruden for the reasons listed above. Liberty is the best of the options, and while head coach Jamey Chadwell is at no risk of losing his job, he's a candidate to take one of the aforementioned gigs.

Should Chadwell bolt for more money and prestige, Gruden could step into a powerhouse program that will have College Football Playoff expectations.