The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are reinstating Jon Gruden into their Ring of Honor, the team announced Thursday. Gruden’s name was removed in October 2021 one day after he resigned as the Las Vegas Raiders head coach following a New York Times report that revealed he used racist, homophobic and sexist language in emails.
“Jon Gruden was initially inducted into the Buccaneers Ring of Honor based on his many accomplishments during his seven seasons as our head coach and he remains a significant figure in the history of our franchise,” the franchise said in a statement Thursday announcing the organization’s decision.
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) February 27, 2025
When he was removed from the Ring of Honor, the Bucs said Gruden’s actions “go against our core values as an organization.”
Gruden — who coached the Buccaneers from 2002-2008 and led them to a win in Super Bowl XXXVII — did not respond to a request for comment.
In the emails, Gruden directed homophobic slurs and expletives at NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, denounced the emergence of women as referees, exchanged photos of women wearing only bikini bottoms (including a photo of two Washington cheerleaders) and said Eric Reid, the former safety who knelt during the national anthem, should be fired.
Gruden also used a racist trope common in anti-Black imagery in an email when referring to then-NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith during the 2011 lockout.
The emails — which were sent over seven years to then-Washington team president Bruce Allen — were uncovered during the NFL’s investigation into workplace misconduct surrounding Washington’s organization, according to The Times.
Gruden went on to file a lawsuit roughly a month after resigning that accused Goodell of leaking his emails as part of a campaign in 2021 to have him fired. The NFL denied leaking the emails.
Gruden, 61, was in the fourth year of a 10-year, $100 million contract signed in January 2018, his second stint with the Raiders after coaching them from 1998 to 2001. He coached the Buccaneers from 2002 to 2008, then was hired by ESPN in May 2009. He worked on “Monday Night Football” through the 2017 season.
Gruden hasn’t coached since his resignation from the Raiders but has been open about his desire to return to coaching. He’s hosted several quarterbacks, including Kirk Cousins and Gardner Minshew, for workouts at his personal coaching headquarters in Lutz, Fla., and worked with the Saints as a consultant in 2023. He currently works as an analyst for Barstool Sports.
Required reading
(Photo: Roy K. Miller / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
