You know it’s peak GRUMORS when Knoxville restaurants are releasing statements
By Keith Farner
Published:
The Jon Gruden chatter reached a new level on Saturday as Calhoun’s On the River restaurant became the center of the latest Grumors that connected Gruden with Tennessee’s head coach vacancy.
Early in the night, word circulated that Peyton Manning was seen at the restaurant with the former NFL coach and Monday Night Football analyst. Even upper management added to the chatter with a tweet that all but referred to Gruden. Suddenly, people who had former roommates working on the staff appeared to confirm the possibility, and a photo purportedly of Gruden and Manning seated at a table also made the rounds.
In the end, none of it ended up being true.
Later in the night, the restaurant issued a statement of apology after a staff member expressed doubt that Gruden was, in fact, at the restaurant.
“It was never our intention to spread rumors,” the statement said. “… We are just as disappointed as everyone else about the uncertainty.”
An ESPN spokesman also sent a tweet that said Gruden was in Seattle in production meetings preparing for the Atlanta Falcons-Seattle Seahawks game on Monday.
We’d like to take a moment to clear things up as well as apologize. We got excited- like everyone. Please read: pic.twitter.com/AIyVvmppKC
— Calhoun’s ? (@calhouns) November 19, 2017
https://twitter.com/smgvols18/status/932031083301998592
For all those wondering, Jon Gruden is actually 2,500 miles away from Calhoun's … in Seattle prepping for #MNF. Production mtgs w/ the Seahawks this afternoon. https://t.co/vWwPfnhkg6
— bill hofheimer (@bhofheimer_espn) November 19, 2017
Having done this for 30 years, I've never seen anything rise to this level of lunacy with all the Gruden stuff. Not even close. https://t.co/4E04c6TC3y
— Chris Low (@ClowESPN) November 19, 2017
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
