Raiders set to bring Gruden back
ALAMEDA, Calif. — The Oakland Raiders never really recovered from their decision to trade coach Jon Gruden to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 16 years ago.
The following season there was a trip to the Super Bowl, where Gruden’s Bucs beat the Raiders. And there was another playoff appearance during the 2016 season under coach Jack Del Rio, a berth that garnered little optimism because quarterback Derek Carr was injured.
But the years since the trade, when the Raiders have gone through nine head coaches, have been stocked mostly with losing seasons — only the Cleveland Brown have more defeats during that span.
Raiders owner Mark Davis hopes that will all change now that he has finally lured Gruden back for a second stint as the team’s coach.
A person with knowledge of the team’s plans said the Raiders are planning a news conference Tuesday to announce that Gruden is leaving the broadcast booth to return to coaching. The person spoke on condition of anonymity Friday because the team has made no formal announcement.
The Raiders fired Del Rio after a disappointing six-win season, and talk immediately turned to Gruden, who has been out of coaching since being fired by Tampa Bay after the 2008 season. Gruden has spent the past nine years as the lead analyst for ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” telecast. He is scheduled to work his final game today in Kansas City as the Chiefs take on the Tennessee Titans in an AFC wild-card playoff game.
After that he will head to Oakland with the task of resurrecting Carr after a down year and getting the Raiders back to the postseason.
Oakland won 12 games in 2016, and Del Rio was given a four-year extension, but the team fell flat this season. The offense regressed after the decision to fire coordinator Bill Musgrave and replace him with untested Todd Downing, and the team struggled mightily on the other side of the ball, too. Defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. was fired late this season, with John Pagano taking over the play-caller’s role.
It all led to the decision to fire Del Rio after his third season and go hard after Gruden. ESPN reported Gruden will receive a 10-year deal that could be worth close to $100 million. Gruden has already started putting together a staff, with Cincinnati defensive coordinator Paul Guenther among those expected to join.
Gruden told ESPN earlier this week he had a good talk with Davis about returning to the organization and believed there was a “good chance” it would happen.
Gruden coached the Raiders from 1998 to 2001. After leading them to 8-8 records his first two years, he helped the team reach the AFC title game during the 2000 season and got Oakland back into the playoffs the following season.
His tenure ended shortly after the “tuck rule” loss to the New England Patriots when he was traded the following month to Tampa Bay for two first-round draft picks, two second-round choices and $8 million.
Gruden beat the Raiders in the Super Bowl in his first season with the Bucs but didn’t win another playoff game for Tampa Bay in his final six seasons. He has a 95-81 career record.
The Raiders have complied with the “Rooney Rule” and interviewed minority candidates for the job, according to NFL spokesman Joe Lockhart.
“I can tell you we believe the Rooney Rule was complied with,” Lockhart said. “Minority candidates were interviewed, and we will wait and see the decision they make.”
This would not mark the first time the Raiders brought back a coach for a second stint. Late owner Al Davis hired Art Shell in 2006, 11 years after firing him the first time. Shell went 2-14 that season and was fired after one year.
Other teams have also done it, with one of the most recent notable coaching hires being Joe Gibbs in Washington. Gibbs stepped away after the 1992 season with three Super Bowl titles to his credit. He came back in 2004 and had a 30-34 record in four seasons, leading the Redskins to two playoff berths.
Gruden’s younger brother, Jay, is headed into his fifth season as coach of the Redskins. Jay was an assistant on Jon’s staffs in Tampa Bay, but now the brothers will compete, though Washington and Oakland are not scheduled to face off again until 2021.