Buccaneers fans love Jon Gruden’s return to the broadcasting booth

It was the first time in the last eight years that Jon Gruden returned to the broadcasting booth. The former football coach and media personality returned to the NFL booth for the first time since 2018, helping to call the Tampa Bay Buccaneers preseason game vs. the Kansas City Chiefs.

Joining Ronde Barber in the booth, Gruden kept the atmosphere energetic as ever. And Barber made sure to pay respect to him during the announcement duties.

“I needed a guy to sit next to me that knows football, and there’s no better man that is a Ring of Honor, a Super Bowl champion, and the winningest coach in Bucs’ history,” Barber said.

Jon Gruden in the booth.

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Fans on social media were loving every ounce of the energetic announcement.

“I would love to see @BarstoolGruden and @Jaboowins together that would be a fun energetic booth whole game,” a fan commented.

“Big network really needs to get Gruden for some games,” another one mentioned.

“I love Coach Jon Gruden in the booth, commanding a team and on social media to name a few. Please send a replay of this tomorrow since it’s not in my market,” a third fan wrote.

Apart from his time as an NFL coach, many know Gruden for his almost decade-long feature on ESPN’s Monday Night Football as an analyst. Gruden has juggled on-and-off roles as a coach and an analyst, then returned to coaching.

He joined Dave Portnoy’s Barstool Sports back in 2024 and has been documenting his football analysis for the brand. And as Barber mentioned, the Ohio-born coach also has the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Ring of Honor to his name. Inducted in 2017, Gruden was removed from the coveted honor after a series of his offensive emails was documented by The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times and published in 2021.

However, the Buccaneers announced that Gruden was reinstated to the honor earlier last year.

While he has gone through a few ups and downs in his career, Gruden said he was preparing for his homecoming with all his might. During an episode of The Ronde Barber Show, the Buccaneers head coach broke down his preparation for his return to the booth.

“This might be a concept; you never know. This concept could be a game-changer in the broadcast booth. . . . I mean, there’s been a conventional way. I sat up there for nine years and did it. Mike Tirico, there was a cadence. ‘First-and-10, it’s da-ta-da-ta-da-ta-da,’ and then you have to be timely in your responses and get out before the next play. But I think as long as we’re on the same page, we love Tampa Bay Buccaneers. We’re going to try to really educate the fans on some of the position battles, just the excitement of opening day in our stadium,” he said earlier this week via JoeBucsFan.com.

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