For the first time since getting fired as the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Jan 16, 2009, the former coach Jon Gruden spoke about the loss of his job and vowed that he would return to coaching.

Gruden told sources that he was shocked at his dismissal.  “It was rough the way it ended, losing three or four games,” Gruden said. “This was the first time in my life being on the front line of the firing squad after 11 years.

“I’ve just taken a couple days to unwind with my family,” Gruden said. “A lot of people have called, being very supportive. Some people have taken shots and I understand that not everyone likes or agrees with what I do as a coach.”

Quarterback Jeff Garcia, Simeon Rice and receiver Michael Clayton had some not so kind things to say about their former coach and in an interview Rice referred to him as a “scumbag” on a Sirius NFL Network.

Grudens response to these harsh words was:  “I’m not the first coach to take potshots,” Gruden said. “Hey, some people were taking potshots at Tony Dungy when I got here. Jeff Garcia, Michael Clayton, I wish those guys the best. I hope Raheem (Morris) gets this thing going again.”

Gruden does want to return to the sidelines however, he wants to keep his options open:  “It’s the NFL, college, high school or, maybe, I’ll just be the best damn flag football coach in the history of Florida,” he said. “I’m now head of the FFCA – Fired Florida Coaches Association.”

Tags: Buccaneer's Jon Gruden Fired, Gruden fired, Jon Gruden, Tampa Bay, Tampa Bay Bucaneers

This entry was posted on Friday, January 30th, 2009 at 2:55 pm and is filed under Behind Blondie Park, Jon Gruden. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.