Oakland Raiders To Pursue Jon Gruden, Offer Him Ownership Stake

The Oakland Raiders are planning on pursuing Jon Gruden this offseason. ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen are reporting the Raiders will target Gruden, and could even offer him an ownership stake to come back to coaching the team.

Gruden was forced out of the organization in 2001 and “traded” to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The 54-year-old broadcaster apparently loves Oakland quarterback Derek Carr and would be coaching a Raiders team set to move to Las Vegas in 2020.

Gruden coached the Raiders for four years from 1998 through 2001 and compiled a 38-26 regular season record and a 2-2 postseason mark. He spent the next seven seasons with the Buccaneers, putting up a mediocre 57-55 mark but won a Super Bowl XXXVII against Oakland.

Gruden hasn’t coached since 2008 and there’s a real, legitimate debate as to whether or not he’s actually the elite coach some bill him as. His teams missed the playoffs in five of the 11 seasons he coached and after his first year in Tampa (where he won a Super Bowl), the Bucs fell short of expectations every campaign.

It might be that broadcasting and time are the two best things to happen to Gruden’s coaching legacy