Jon Gruden, ESPN agree to new 5-year deal

When Jon Gruden joined ESPN before the 2009 season, he widely was assumed to be just another coach dabbling in TV between NFL jobs. Instead, he appears to be settling in for a long-term second career.

The network announced Monday that Gruden, 48, has signed a new five-year agreement that takes effect in September 2012.

The news release said the deal "will keep him on sports television's signature series and out of coaching for the next five years." ESPN declined to discuss the terms beyond that, including whether he can get out of the contract to coach before 2017.

Gruden's contract was announced as he prepared for last night's Dolphins-Jets game as part of the three-man "Monday Night Football" booth, his primary duty since joining ESPN.

"I said I want to get good at this," Gruden said at MetLife Stadium. "I was serious about this from the day I started it and I am serious about wanting to get good at it.

"I spent 26 or 27 years in coaching, 18 of them in the NFL. I want to focus on this and get better every day."

For now, the new contract should keep him off lists of candidates for potential coaching openings, including the Dolphins.With AP