Per Tampa Bay reporter Ira Kaufman of JoeBucsFan, Gruden will handle play-by-play duties for an NFL preseason game in August, with reports indicating it will be a Tampa Bay Buccaneers preseason contest.
"In about a month, Jon Gruden will be doing play-by-play on an NFL game," Kaufman said on 95.7 WDAE. "He's not fooling around about this stuff."
A Different Kind Of Job
Gruden made his broadcasting ambitions clear on The Ira Kaufman Podcast, expressing a desire to move from the analyst chair to play-by-play.
"I was a broadcaster for nine years; hell's bells," Gruden said. "I want to be play-by-play. You know, Frank Gifford, he transitioned into the play-by-play role. I would like to transition. I had nine years of watching these guys, Mike Tirico. And I'd like to give that a shot, man."
Jon Gruden is attempting a different kind of NFL comeback.
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) July 15, 2026
The former ESPN analyst is expected to call play-by-play for a Buccaneers preseason game instead of serving as a color commentator.@MMcCarthyREV's column ⬇️
The move is notable because play-by-play is a different discipline than the one Gruden built his reputation on.
He spent nine years reacting to games as an analyst alongside Tirico, but calling the action himself and carrying a broadcast is a distinct skill he has never had experience with.
The Background
Gruden served as the color analyst on ESPN's Monday Night Football for nine seasons from 2009 to 2017, working next to Tirico, before leaving to take the Raiders head coaching job.
At his peak, he was ESPN's highest-paid employee, making nearly $7 million a year.
Gruden resigned as Raiders head coach in 2021 after the revelation of emails, and he currently has active civil litigation against the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell over the events that led to his forced resignation.
Since joining Barstool Sports in 2024, Gruden has experienced something of a renaissance, running a popular football YouTube channel and remaining in the public eye.
He has also publicly signaled interest in a return to coaching, particularly at the college level, saying he would "die to coach in the SEC."
For now, the preseason play-by-play assignment gives Gruden a chance to prove he can handle a role he has long wanted, even if the details on the exact date and broadcast remain unclear.
