As Michigan's Brady Hoke Experiment continues its jaw-dropping self-combustion, high-profile names keep getting tossed around as coaches with at least a theoretical interest in the head coaching job.

But Jon Gruden is the first one to state that interest for himself -- at least according to Jon Gruden, circa 1984.

According to a 1984 media guide for the University of Dayton football team, then-junior quarterback Jon Gruden's ultimate dream job -- nay, his expectation -- was to become the head football coach at the University of Michigan:

This is from an old University of Dayton football media guide @mgoblog @AceAnbender @Misopogon pic.twitter.com/si400kQZVs

— Dan Whitaker (@DanWhitaker_UD) October 9, 2014

(Fun fact: Gruden spent the 1984 season backing up Phil Nussman, who -- unless there is another man of the same name still living in the Dayton area -- works in management for Workflow One, a document management company.)

Gruden, who hasn't been a head coach since 2008, has been attached to head coach openings almost every offseason since he was fired by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It's presumed Gruden is simply waiting for the best opportunity, so the speculation of him having interest in the Michigan job isn't completely without merit.

Gruden, who coached Tampa Bay to a blowout win in Super Bowl XXXVII, is hardly the only prominent figure who would listen to a Michigan sales pitch. San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh, himself a Michigan grad, has been rumored as a target for the Wolverines. With some sources reporting that Harbaugh has already committed to leaving the 49ers after this season, Michigan could be a great opportunity.

And while Michigan's athletic director hasn't formally dropped the axe on Hoke, only a blistering finish to the season could give him a shot at sticking around. The Wolverines are 2-4 so far this season, including 0-2 in the Big Ten. In four years, Hoke's teams have seen their winning percentage drop every season.

Gruden can deny and give non-answers all he wants, but we now know the truth: Somewhere inside that man is a young boy with big dreams of coaching in Ann Arbor.

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