Well the flight tracking, stalking, "he's got a $9M/year offer on the table" stuff was still a wild goose chase. Super entertaining, but a wild goose chase.
There were no advanced-level discussions. He did talk with Dave Hart, apparently (Gruden mentions Tirico, who left after 2015, so this could have been during search to replace Dooley). It sounds like he toyed with the idea of it but ultimately didn't want to leave MNF.
Regardless, the Grumors weren't concocted 100% out of thin air. Which is something.