I am firmly in the cautiously optimistic about Gruden camp. Given the last round of Grumors without them panning out and my view that there are a number of reasons to think Gruden would prefer the cushy announcer gig or another NFL gig, I think the chances are far greater that we get another coach but I like that the rumors seem to suggest UTs power brokers are unified and tired of mediocrity and that gives me hope that we will get a substantial upgrade from Butch.
I am puzzled by the anti-Gruden people, however. College football is more about the jimmies and the joes than the Xs and the Os and has always been that way. Elite coaching can develop better players and maximize players in a scheme but Grudens celebrity and likely staff would increase the talent level on the Hill (although I would expect a learning curve on the recruiting front) and thats more than half the battle. I also cannot imagine that coaching from Butch, et al., would not also see dramatic improvement under Gruden and his staff. Who knows if Gruden would have a Saban, Meyer, Harbaugh, Petersen effect at UT but I think its crystal clear that he would be an upgrade from our current coach and so he has a higher floor than our coachs apparent ceiling and Gruden would have a chance to have an elite run at UT. He could also fail to reach the highest level but we would be better with him as coach than where we are now and that should be our focus.
