Paul Finebaum Claims he’s been told Tennessee would Target Jon Gruden

Welp.

Butch Jones hasn’t even been fired from Tennessee and here come the #grumors! It’s the story that will never die. Paul Finebaum led a segment on his radio show on Thursday afternoon, talking about who could potentially replace Butch Jones.

Finebaum threw gas on the fire when he responded to a caller that said Tennessee would “break the bank” for a coach and that the first call they would make would be Jon Gruden.

Instead of shooting it down or laughing, like most of us do when we hear a #grumor, Finebaum said this. “I talked to — someone — let me put it that way. Someone that I have a lot of trust in and is connected deeply in that program. He told me the same thing. If we lose this game (Georgia) and something happens to Butch Jones, our first choice would be Jon Gruden.”

(Listen to the whole segment here. Advance to the 30 minute mark.)

Don’t get your hopes up.

There was a report out this summer detailing why Gruden wouldn’t take a college job. As everyone close to him says, he’s pretty comfortable in the booth. I think if he comes back, it would be for an NFL gig.

As I’ve said for years with Gruden, I’ll believe it when I see it.