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There’s a very interesting off-field story to go along with the game between the Indianapolis Colts and Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.

Former Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden will be returning to Raymond James Stadium for an NFL game for the first time since he was dismissed after the 2009 season. This time, Gruden will be there as an analyst for “Monday Night Football."

In this Front Row item by Bill Hofheimer, Gruden discusses his return and several other topics. He even reflected on a 2003 Monday night game in which the Bucs led 35-15 with four minutes left, but somehow ended up losing in overtime.

“We got off to a really good start and had a commanding lead,’’ Gruden said. “Then I got shot by 'The Sheriff.' One of our corners -- Brian Kelly -- tore his pec muscle and we put a backup corner in there and [Colts quarterback] Peyton Manning found him a couple of times. They returned a kickoff after one of our touchdowns down to the eight- or nine-yard line. Next thing I knew it was seven points for the Colts. That game was one of Peyton’s finest hours. When you lose a substantial lead like that with the kind of defense we had, that was tough. The house was packed that night, and I think they all went home mad at me.

But Gruden also talked a lot about happier times. When asked what was his best win in Raymond James Stadium, he pointed to a win over a division rival.

“In 2005, we beat the Atlanta Falcons 27-24 in overtime,’’ Gruden said. “It was Cadillac Williams’ rookie year. We came from behind to get the win and it helped us win the division. We blocked a kick late in the game — Dwayne White blocked a field goal. Chris Simms was our quarterback. That was a great day at Raymond James.’’

Of course, Gruden’s best memory of the stadium involved a game that was played in San Diego in his first season with the Bucs.

“My favorite memory was right after we returned home from the Super Bowl in San Diego,’’ Gruden said. “We went to the stadium and met our fans. It was packed. That was phenomenal. The place was just going crazy. There was a traffic jam all up and down Dale Mabry Highway. We got to the stadium with the Lombardi Trophy and there were people everywhere. To share that moment with the fans was awesome.’’

I am not saying this will happen, but I am saying it could.

It’s purely hypothetical at this point, but I’m going to say I wouldn’t be totally surprised if the Carolina Panthers bring in a coach from the college ranks to replace John Fox, who will be out the door the moment the season is over.

I’ve been saying all along I thought the Panthers would go with a rising NFL coordinator or assistant and I’ve thrown out names like Russ Grimm, Mike McCoy and Brian Schottenheimer as examples. I still think that is the most-likely scenario.

As I said in this recent post, I believe general manager Marty Hurney and team president Danny Morrison will spearhead the search. Owner Jerry Richardson will be involved and have ultimate say, but he’s pretty busy working on the league’s labor situation.

The reason I’m amending my theory, and at least leaving open the possibility of a college coach, is Morrison. Yeah, he runs the business side and Hurney runs the football side, but Morrison holds a great deal of power and comes from a college background. He knows people at the college level all across the country and I think he’ll at least bring some college names to the table.

I also think Hurney is bright enough and has enough of an open mind that he at least would consider going the college route.

People already have been throwing around Jim Harbaugh’s name and I think there are at least logical reasons for the Panthers to take a look at him. Harbaugh’s had success at Stanford and he’s young and enthusiastic. He also is the guy who has been coaching Andrew Luck. In case you haven’t heard, there is a pretty good chance Luck will be the first player chosen in the 2011 draft. There’s an even better chance the 1-11 Panthers will hold that pick.

A package deal? Perhaps. But I’m not convinced the people who still will be in power are ready to give up on Jimmy Clausen, although Fox never embraced him. It’s possible the Panthers could hire Harbaugh and ask him to develop Clausen. It’s possible they could try to trade the top pick to add more picks. But if Luck is as good as everyone seems to think he is, it would be awfully hard to pass on a franchise quarterback.

Harbaugh may be a college coach, but he had a lengthy NFL career, so the transition wouldn’t be that dramatic.

Now, I’m going to throw out one other college name that I think could fit Carolina’s profile. That’s Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly. He has no NFL experience, but neither did Morrison before he was hired. Like Morrison as an athletic director, Kelly has moved steadily up the college ranks. He had great success at Cincinnati and that got him the Notre Dame job.

Again, I’m not saying the Panthers definitely will hire a college coach. But I think it’s at least a consideration. Keep in mind, this is a team that got stale the past few years under Fox.

The Panthers need a guy who will liven things up. Starting fresh with a college coach might not be a bad option.

Posted by ESPN.com's Pat Yasinskas

TAMPA, Fla. -- There could be even another element to the quarterback situation for the Buccaneers.

The team could be looking to trade one of its quarterbacks for a draft pick. Coach Raheem Morris wouldn't confirm an NFL.com report that the Bucs are shopping three of their quarterbacks for a trade, but he didn't deny it either.

"Oh, man, they're Nostradamus," Morris said when asked about the report. "Everybody in this league, all 32 teams around this time start calling front offices. I can't control who calls us. Everybody's interested in everybody's roster and everybody's looking to nit-pick off everybody's roster. Everybody has talent and you're trying to accumulate the best talent on your football team. That's just all that talk is what that is."

But it makes total sense for the Bucs to at least try to find out what the market value might be for Byron Leftwich, Luke McCown or Josh Johnson. They're not about to let go of rookie Josh Freeman, who they call their franchise quarterback.

But that's likely in the future. For now, it appears the Bucs will open the season with either Leftwich or McCown as their starter. They're about even at this point and a potential trade could play into Morris' decision, although the Bucs likely would be able to get only a late-round pick (at best) for any of their quarterbacks.

Leftwich, a former starter in Jacksonville, probably has more trade value because of his experience. McCown has only seven starts. Johnson, a second-year pro, has yet to play in an NFL game and probably wouldn't bring much in a trade.