LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 10: Head coach Jon Gruden of the Las Vegas Raiders reacts during a game against the Chicago Bears at Allegiant Stadium on October 10, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Bears defeated the Raiders 20-9. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden is returning to the team's Ring of Honor. As coach of the team he led the Bucs to their first Super Bowl Championship. Later, when he was a TV analyst for Monday Night Football the team placed him in the RIng of Honor at halftime of a Bucs game he was covering at the time.
However, the team unceremoniously removed his name from the ring in 2021 when his leaked emails surfaced where he wrote racist and anti-gay comments. The Bucs released a statement at the time that said Gruden's emails went against the team's "core values as an organization."
JON GRUDEN IS RETURNING
Jon Gruden is returning: Now the team is doing a 180-degree turn on the matter and will restore his name on the Raymond James Stadium walls in their ring of honor. However there will be no new ceremony.
The about-face began last year at a memorial for former team defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin when his son Lane Kiffin spoke about second chances in life. The owners of the Bucs, the Glazers, hosted Gruden and his wife Cindy in their owners suite November 10th for a game against the 49ers and a reconciliation was underway.
In the meantime Gruden has been very busy making videos for Barstool Sports. So Jon Gruden is returning to the Bucs Ring of Honor. For the latest NFL and Buccaneers talk and analysis tune in each weekday to Craig Shemon and Company from 2-6pm on ESPN Southwest Florida.
