FanHouse Jon Gruden

I guess it was only a matter of time. You can now place wagers on who the next Redskins' head coach will be. Though there is nothing official from the Redskins that they'll definitely terminate Jim Zorn at or before the conclusion of the season, online betting place Play Blackjack Online has compiled a list with odds of possible coaching candidates.

I'm not a Redskins or Eagles fan, but I watched the Monday Night Football telecast because, like most people, I wanted to see how a guy who was calling bingo games a month ago might do as a play-caller. Turns out, better than you might think. But as ESPN's Ron Jaworski reminded us every 15 seconds: IT'S MORE ABOUT THE EXECUTION THAN THE PLAY CALL.

Duly noted, sir.

Anyway, as Jaws, Jon Gruden and Mike Tirico came on the air to preview the game, I noticed what looked like a fly on Tirico's head. And thanks to Hot Clicks, that was apparently the case.

Video after the jump.

TAMPA, Fla. -- ESPN announcer and former Tampa Bay Bucs coach Jon Gruden, who was attending Thursday night's Cincinnati-South Florida game, declined comment about media reports linking him to college and NFL coaching positions.

"I'm just here to support the Bulls," Gruden told FanHouse.

Gruden has been identified as the top choice at Louisville if current coach Steve Kragthorpe is fired after the season, the NFL Network reported.

The first five weeks of the season have led to the widespread belief that Jim Zorn's got about as much time left in the nation's capital as a Congressman found in a hotel room with three dead prostitutes. That means that speculation about his possible replacement has ramped up to a fevered pitch and, since the Redskins are owned by Daniel Snyder, it's focused on only the biggest available names.

Tuesday brings a report from the Washington Examiner that sources close to Snyder have placed former Raiders and Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden at the top of the owner's wish list. It's not hard to figure out why that report would surface on a Tuesday.

Last night was Monday Night Football, after all.

In sports, one team's celebration is another's despair. This happens every single game, but sometimes the feelings are more drastic, depending upon circumstances.

The big news from Detroit Sunday afternoon was that the Lions won their first game since December of 2007. The ecstasy felt from those in the Lions organization was likely equal to the rage being felt by Washington Redskins' owner Dan Snyder right now. His Redskins were the first team to lose to the Lions in the last 20 games. This was coming off as bad a win as you could imagine -- a 9-7 triumph over the hapless Rams, where the Redskins appeared allergic to the end zone.

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ORLANDO -- Simeon Rice has carried the chip on his shoulder for so long that it became a standard part of his football uniform.

It's a boulder now.

Rice, a 12-year NFL veteran and three-time Pro Bowl selection, began practice this week with the New York Sentinels of the startup United Football League, confident of regaining the form that once made him one of the game's most dangerous defensive ends.

"I have some unfinished business,'' Rice said from outside the Citrus Bowl, where the Florida Tuskers and the Sentinels share training-camp facilities. "I've done it all, but I never felt like I got the credit I deserved. So I'm coming back to get that. This is my road back.''

BRISTOL, Conn. -- Everyone here at ESPN headquarters is taking pains to say that replacing Tony Kornheiser with Jon Gruden in the Monday Night Football booth is not an indictment of Kornheiser's work as an announcer. But in the next breath, everyone then talks about how great they expect Monday Night Football to be now that Gruden is a part of it.

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The Buccaneers have been busy little beavers this offseason. Jon Gruden got canned, Raheem Morris, the league's youngest head coach, was hired, and along with new (and young-ish) general manager Mark Dominik, they purged the roster of veterans and commenced with the youth movement.

Taking quarterback Josh Freeman with their first-round pick was a clear indication of that, but so too was trading for wildly talented but emotionally excitable tight end Kellen Winslow.

It's June, so a lot can change between now and the start of training camp in six weeks, but apparently the Buccaneers are thinking about giving the starting quarterback gig to rookie first-round pick Josh Freeman.

Before last season, I would have had a hard time supporting that plan, but Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco changed all that. Ryan led the Falcons, a four-win outfit in 2007, to the postseason; Flacco made it to the AFC Conference Championship game with the Ravens, a team that finished 5-11 the year before.

Now, the Bucs might have similar ideas for Freeman. And they were 9-7 in 2008, which, in theory, means they have fewer holes to patch.

Jon Gruden is the new Tony Kornheiser. Just about everybody not working for NFL Network is cool with that.

Mr. Tony the columnist and Pardon the Interruption co-host was nothing like Mr. Tony the third wheel in the Monday Night Football booth, and his departure -- whether on his own terms or otherwise -- is a welcome change. Before ESPN named Gruden to replace Kornheiser, NFL Network had similar plans: they wanted Chucky to move into Cris Collinsworth's seat (Cris graduated to Sunday Night Football after John Madden retired) and work alongside Bob Papa on the eight Thursday night games.