Jake Haener is preparing for his second season with the New Orleans Saints, and his second year in the NFL in general. He’s hoping that year two goes much better than year one. As a rookie, Haener made headlines for two things: his funny press photos and being suspended six games for violating the league’s policy on performance enhancing drugs. With the suspension behind him, Haener is focused on becoming a quality NFL quarterback.

In order to reach that goal, Haener has turned to a surprising source for help. Nick Underhill reported that Haener has spent the last year working with Jon Gruden. Underhill says Haener has been doing everything from training to studying to film sessions with Gruden, and as a result, the young QB is ready to get rolling in his second season.

Jake Haener has been working with Jon Gruden to prepare for year two

Gruden and his family have been a part of the football world for a long time, and he has a coaching career spanning back to 1986, including leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a Super Bowl in the 2002 season. As a coach, he most recently served as the head coach for the Raiders from 2018 to 2021, before resigning after a league investigation discovered emails from Gruden using racist, misogynistic, and homophobic language. Since then, Gruden has served as an advisor to the Milano Seamen of the European League of Football, and also has an undefined consultant role with the Saints.

He also had a booming broadcasting career with ESPN prior to taking over as the Raiders’ coach. A highlight of his work in the media space was the series Jon Gruden’s QB Camp. Gruden would often work with young quarterback prospects, helping them prepare for the NFL on the field and in the classroom.

It sounds like Jake Haener has experienced a more in depth version of the process. Now, he’ll take all that he’s learned over the last year, and bring it to a Saints quarterback room that desperately needs a solid backup to emerge. With Nathan Peterman and Kellen Mond the other quarterbacks on the roster, besides Derek Carr, Haener could carve out a role for himself as QB2 behind Carr.