ESPN: Ex-Raiders HC Jon Gruden Could Be Named Saints' OC for Dennis Allen's Staff | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors

Former Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden remains a candidate in the New Orleans Saints' search for a new offensive coordinator.

ESPN's Katherine Terrell referenced Gruden on Monday and cited a vague response from general manager Mickey Loomis when asked about about the experienced coach.

Nick Underhill @nick_underhill

Loomis on Gruden as OC candidate: "I don't want to talk about specific candidates for that role"

Katherine Terrell @Kat_Terrell

Loomis was asked about Jon Gruden, he said it was a fair question but didn't want to talk about specific candidates

Gruden resigned from the Raiders midway through the 2021 season after emails surfaced in which he had used racist, anti-gay and misogynistic remarks. He subsequently filed a lawsuit alleging the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell "sought to destroy" his career "through a malicious and orchestrated campaign."

The litigation remains ongoing, raising questions over his viability as a target for the Saints, which is to say nothing of the optics behind hiring him given the circumstances of his Las Vegas exit.

There's also the fact the 60-year-old has been out of the league for two-and-a-half seasons. That's on top of the 10 years he was out of coaching before taking the Raiders job in 2018.

Writing a postmortem of the Gruden era for Las Vegas, ESPN's Bill Barnwell was at least complimentary of his work on offense and said he "did a solid job" of running the unit.

Maybe the Super Bowl winner is suited for a more limited role on an NFL sideline, but he arguably doesn't stand out as a can't-miss coordinator option. One can't help but wonder if Gruden would be worth the hassle given the baggage he'd inevitably bring.