Jon Gruden signed a "long-term" extension today with ESPN that will keep him on Monday Night Football and other network broadcasts for the "forseeable future". In Washington, Cleveland, South Bend, Louisville and all other football towns that will have possible coaching vacancies this off-season, there was much fretting that Gruden's new deal means he won't be available to take over those teams. In the words of another ESPN personality, "not so fast, my friend."

Here's part of Gruden's statement, which was released via ESPN this afternoon:

"Working with Mike, [Ron Jaworski] and our entire Monday Night Football team is the most fun I have had in years, and I am fired up to make this long-term commitment to ESPN. Monday Night Football is special and I look forward to remaining a part of it and continuing to call these great games."

That comment is more telling for what it doesn't say than what it does say. Gruden never addresses whether he's fully committed to the MNF booth for 2010, let alone "long-term", he never says he won't listen to offers and he never says he won't someday go back to coaching. All he says is that he's made a "long-term commitment". The lack of specifics is telling.

Bob Glauber of Newsday reports that industry sources say Gruden told ESPN he's definitely in for 2010, if not 2011, and I have no doubt that Gruden said that. I also have no doubt that he's being totally honest about his intentions. But Brett Favre(notes) thought he'd stay retired both times too, you know? People change their minds. It's human nature.

You don't think if Dan Snyder or Jerry Jones or Notre Dame boosters offer Gruden $10 million per year and the chance to resurrect some of the most historic teams in football history that he's not at least going to listen? He's a football coach without any good reason (that we know of) not to coach football. The comparison to John Madden is thrown around a lot, but Madden stayed out of coaching for a very specific reason: He hated to fly. 

I don't know what's going on in Gruden's mind. Maybe he loves the life of a broadcaster, who knows. But nothing he's done in his decade in the spotlight has indicated he's the type of guy who will be content to sit in production meetings with Eli Manning(notes) on Fridays instead of game-planning for an upcoming opponent.

Today's developments do nothing to shake my belief that Gruden will be back on the sidelines by 2011, at the latest. Although maybe I'm just projecting my hope that he does because, as I wrote last month, as a broadcaster, Gruden is a great ex-coach.