Just hours after the firing, Gruden was asked if he would be interested in the job and he didn't exactly shoot it down. The question came during the Steelers-Bengals game, when Gruden was in the booth with Sean McDonough for ESPN's Monday Night Football.
"The big topic of conversation ... Would Coach Gruden consider coming to the New York Giants?" McDonough said. "Your name comes up for every job."
Gruden then attempted to move the conversation forward by stiff-arming McDonough with a quick answer.
"Don't believe half of that stuff you hear and read, Sean," Gruden said.
However, McDonough wasn't about to stop the conversation there, so he decided to ask a follow-up question.
"Our producer saw somewhere the odds of you going to the Giants are [35-to-1]," McDonough said. "Would you take the over or the under on [35-to-1]?"
That's when Gruden said he might actually be interested in the job, but with one catch: The Giants would have to keep Eli Manning.
"I'll take the under on that if Eli comes back," Gruden said.
At 35-to-1 odds, it seems that even Gruden would bet on himself to take the Giants' job.
The one interesting thing about Gruden is that he hasn't been so quick to shoot down the coaching rumors this year, which is a change from the past. For instance, in December 2016, Gruden was asked if he might return to the NFL and he was pretty clear with his answer, saying that he "had no intention of" returning to coaching.
This time around, it seems like he's at least leaving the door slightly open.
