Late Monday night, it was announced that the Nevada Supreme Court ruled in favor of former NFL head coach Jon Gruden.
Gruden was fired from his job with the Las Vegas Raiders after sexist, homophobic, and racist emails that he wrote were released by the NFL in their investigation at the time of the Washington Football Team, which later became the Washington Commanders.
So what does all of this mean? It means Gruden will get discovery and his day in court, alleging that Commissioner Roger Goodell and the NFL improperly leaked his emails, leading to his firing as Raiders head coach.
The NFL has already said it plans to appeal the ruling. Even with this ruling, it may be a while before the Gruden case is heard in court, and even if he wins, there is no guarantee another NFL team would touch him.
While giving a speech to the Georgia Bulldogs football team, Gruden expressed his interest in returning to coaching.
“I sit there and I fantasize — I’m fantasizing on the (practice) field,” continued Gruden. “I said, ‘Man, I wish I was coaching against the SEC.’ I want to come to Georgia, between the hedges. I’m fantasizing about going up against Kirby Smart. I’m an offensive coach you see. I’m over there fantasizing about coming down here and beating Georgia in the hedges. That’s what I’m fantasizing about. Because whether you like it or not, you’re the f—ing measuring stick that I base my whole career on as a coach.”
This new ruling may pave the way for Gruden’s return to coaching and to make amends for the things he said while he was coaching the Raiders. The question is, who, if any team, will take a chance on him?
We will all find out soon if a team, especially a team in the SEC, will bite the bullet and give Jon Gruden the second chance he seeks.