I'm half convinced that the only reason we're hearing Jon Gruden's name come up in the coaching search at the University of Florida is just to spark the ire of Miami fans. After the 'Canes came up cold in their pursuit of Gruden, it really would sting if he ended up in Gainseville. Of course, there are rumors, and a Gainseville Sun reporter tweeted that he saw Urban Meyer and UF AD Jeremy Foley chatting it up recently.
"Jon Gruden here at Raymond James talking to #Gators coach Urban Meyer," tweeted Edward Aschoff from an Outback Bowl function. The tweet lead to a story on the Sun's Gator sports site.
I'm not going to say that just because Miami couldn't land him that means Gruden would never coach on the college level. Though, I think at this point they guy just likes hearing people talk about how great a coach he is and offer him jobs.
Plus, the reports surfacing after the Miami talks seem to indicate that, if anything, he'll wait until the NFL jobs start coming in. Various reports have as a possible coach for the Broncos, Browns, 49ers and even the Dolphins.
So take the report with a grain of salt. Gruden was only at the Outback Bowl shindig because he happens to be broadcasting the game.
As for coaches actually apparently with a chance to take over for Meyer, the current list includes Dan Mullen (Miss. State head coach and former UF OC), Charlie Strong (Louisville HC and former UF DC), Kyle Whittingham (Utah HC), Bobby Petrino (Arkansas HC), Kevin Sumlin (Houstin HC), Chip Kelly (Oregon HC), Chris Peterson (Boise State HC), Randy Edsall (UConn HC), Bob Stoops (Oklahoma HC), and Will Muschamp (Texas DC).