Jon Gruden is almost certainly going to be the next coach of the Oakland Raiders. Everyone knows it. You know it, the Raiders know it, ESPN knows it, your dog knows it, and Gruden definitely knows it.
Jon Gruden hopes he’s being considered for the Raiders job. LOL
C’mon, everyone — including Gruden — knows he’s the front-runner.
Jeanna Kelley has been covering the Falcons for The Falcoholic since 2011 and the NFL for SB Nation since 2015.
But he’s still being coy about it.
“Well, I think I am being considered, yes. I hope I’m a candidate,” Gruden said, via Jerry McDonald of the Mercury News.
Gruden said he expects the team to announce its decision early next week. In the meantime, he’s still planning to call this week’s AFC Wild Card matchup between the Titans and Chiefs — a team he’ll face twice each season when he does take over in Oakland.
The Raiders are in the market for a new head coach after firing Jack Del Rio following Oakland’s Week 17 loss to the Chargers. A regression in 2017 pushed the Raiders to move on, while reports swirled that the team was pursuing Gruden as Del Rio’s replacement.
Why would Gruden want to coach the Raiders? The Raiders are reportedly willing to do just about anything to bring him back to Oakland. That includes potentially giving him an ownership stake in the team, according to Gruden’s colleagues at ESPN, Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen.
That’s easier said than done. The league’s ownership would have to approve that deal. Sources suggested to Schefter and Mortenson that owners might not be all that excited to do so because of the precedent it would set.
But there’s still one other factor that may make this opportunity too good for Gruden to refuse: The Raiders are set to move to Las Vegas before the 2020 season. California has one of the highest income tax rates in the nation, but Nevada doesn’t tax income at all. Any deal Gruden signs with Oakland could be structured so that the bulk of it pays out after the team relocates.
Why are the Raiders so set on Gruden? Gruden has a history in Oakland. He was hired by Oakland for his first head coaching gig back in 1998. He spent four seasons helping the Raiders become competitive again, and they traded Gruden to the Buccaneers for four draft picks after the 2001 season and two consecutive postseason bids.
The decision to trade him away came back to haunt them in January. Oakland made it to Super Bowl XXXVII and lost 48-21 to Gruden’s Buccaneers.
Gruden was fired by the Buccaneers after the 2009 season, and he was hired by ESPN that May to serve as a color commentator for Monday Night Football. His salary was reported to be more than $6.5 million per year back in 2015. His name still is in the mix every year when NFL head coaching jobs open up, but he’s seemed content to stay in the booth. This time seems different, though.
The Raiders still have to interview candidates and comply with the league’s Rooney Rule by talking to at least one minority candidate. But at this point, it seems like we’re getting a Jon Gruden sequel in Oakland — even if everyone’s still waiting for it to officially be greenlit.
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