CBSSports.com is reporting the the Lions are one of four teams submitting a request to the Cincinnati Bengals to interview offensive coordinator Jay Gruden.
Four teams requested permission to interview Jay Gruden shortly after CIN loss last night, sources said – Skins, Vikings, Lions and Titans
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) January 6, 2014
The news on the ‘interest’ in Jay Gruden comes just a few days after the Lions formally interviewed Baltimore Ravens’ offensive coordinator Jim Caldwell on Friday.
Although not Jon Gruden (who for some reason many Lions fans continue to drool over) Jay has been pretty highly regarded around the NFL (as a coordinator) for a few years now. Jay was an offensive coordinator under his brother in Tampa Bay between 2002-08 where he won one Super Bowl. Jay Gruden has also been the offensive coordinator for the Bengals the past three seasons where Cincinnati QB Andy Dalton has credited for his accelerated development.
Since the Bengals were eliminated from the playoffs yesterday, Gruden is free to interview and be hired by any team not currently in the postseason. However the Lions still seem to have Chargers OC Ken Whisenhunt at the top of their list the tea that eliminated Cincinnati over the weekend.
