Report: Gruden could land in St. Louis with A.J. Smith

Jon Gruden is reportedly interested in making the move from the broadcast booth to the sideline and one report has him ticketed for St. Louis.

Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that if A.J. Smith is ousted as genereal manager of the Chargers, he will be hired by St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke to run the show and Smith will bring Gruden with him as a replacement for Steve Spagnuolo, who most expect to be fired.

Yes, there are a lot of moving parts here, but many teams will be making moves once the season is over Acee reports Chargers owner Dean Spanos could cut ties with Smith and most certainly will fire coach Norv Turner. Acee cites sources that ESPN is “already planning” for the departure of Gruden.

Many wonder what will happen in St. Louis because Kroenke, who assumed full control of the team earlier this year, has operated very quietly. No one is quite sure what he’s thinking but Kroenke has experience running professional sports franchises and is an astute businessman.

We’ll see soon enough. Changes will come fast and furious by this time next week.

Follow me on Twitter: @BradBiggs

Brad Biggs covers the Bears for the Chicago Tribune

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