Jon Gruden is headed back into an NFL broadcast booth, and the assignment comes with a familiar face beside him.
The former Super Bowl-winning coach will call the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ preseason home game against the Kansas City Chiefs, the team announced Thursday. Gruden will be paired with Hall of Fame cornerback Ronde Barber, creating a reunion between two of the most recognizable figures from the Buccaneers’ championship era.
“Two franchise icons are back together again. Super Bowl-winning head coach & Buccaneers Ring of Honor inductee @BarstoolGruden joins Pro Football Hall of Famer & Buccaneers Ring of Honor inductee @rondebarber in the broadcast booth when we host the Kansas City Chiefs,” the Buccaneers wrote.
The reaction from Tampa Bay fans came quickly, and it was loud. “Fire dem cannons already, we await the moment,” one fan wrote on X.
Another said, “Really excited to see these two together again.” A third added, “If the commentary’s as legendary as the duo, I’ll need popcorn and a time machine to keep up.”
For Gruden, the preseason game marks a return to calling league action. He has also said that he wants to become a play-by-play announcer.
The pairing carries extra weight because of what the two meant to Tampa Bay’s first Super Bowl team. Gruden took over in 2002 and immediately guided the Buccaneers to their first title, a win over the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII.
He was later fired after the bad 2008 season. Gruden was eventually added to the team’s Ring of Honor, removed in 2021, and then returned last year.
Barber’s resume with the franchise is just as deep. During Tampa Bay’s Super Bowl season, he earned All-Pro honors and played a major role in the playoff run.
In three postseason games, he had two interceptions, including a pick-six, and broke up 10 passes. Barber spent all 16 seasons of his NFL career with the Buccaneers before being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2023.
In Other News...
DeAndre Hopkins May Be Nearing An Unexpected Career Crossroads
DeAndre Hopkins is back in the news this week for reasons that go well beyond the usual free-agent chatter. The veteran receiver is visiting the Patriots during training camp, reconnecting with Mike Vrabel after the two were together with the Titans in 2023, and the setting alone makes it clear this is not just a routine stop on the offseason circuit.
For Kansas City, Hopkins latest move is a reminder that his next chapter is still unwritten after a recent run with the Chiefs that gave them another proven target in the passing game. His future remains open heading toward the 2026 season, and the fact that he is still weighing what comes next adds an unusual layer to a career that has already taken him through several different contenders. [Read more 🡒]
Chiefs Fans Are Mourning A Heartbreaking Update On Jordan Devey
Jordan Deveys death has left a painful mark on the Chiefs community, where the former offensive lineman spent three seasons beginning in 2016. He was 38, and for Kansas City fans who remember him as part of the teams offensive front, the news lands as another reminder of how quickly a familiar name from the league can become a heartbreaking headline.
Devey also built a life beyond football, becoming a youth football coach in Eagle, Idaho and staying active in his community. His passing has prompted an outpouring of grief from people who knew him in those roles, even as his familys public message has made clear there is much more to this loss than the football side of his story. [Read more 🡒]
Why Chiefs Retired No 33 Still Hits Fans So Hard
Retired numbers usually mark championships, longevity or the kind of star power that fills a stadium for years, but No. 33 in Kansas City carries a different kind of weight. It belongs to Stone Johnson, the former Olympic sprinter whose brief time with the Chiefs and Dallas Texans ended before he ever played a regular-season snap for the franchise, a detail that makes the tribute feel less like a football honor than a reminder of how fragile a career can be.
The number also has a second layer of history attached to it through Curley Johnson, who spent an early stretch with the Dallas Texans before carving out his own place as a record-setting punter for the New York Jets. Put together, the two stories give No. 33 an unusual place in Chiefs lore, one tied to promise cut short and another to a player who found success elsewhere, which is why the number still lands with fans in a way that goes beyond the usual retired jersey ceremony. [Read more 🡒]