Raiders fans shouldn’t freak out over Gruden’s offseason moves

When Jon Gruden was hired (rehired?) as the coach of the Oakland Raiders earlier this year, he was handed a big, fat contract – perhaps the largest for a coach in NFL history – and a mandate to build a winner without delay.

For a coach who has effectively been out of the game for a decade, Gruden has been granted incredible – perhaps unilateral – power when it comes to the football side of the Raiders’ organization, and a few months into his tenure, it’s evident that he has no problem using it.

The result is a Raiders’ roster that appears to reflect the values and desires of the team’s old/new head coach.

The Raiders haven’t made too many splashes in free agency – they were only in on one top player, Ndamukong Suh, who canceled his visit to Oakland – but those players that Oakland has signed aren’t exactly prospects.

Doug Martin is 29 at a position where few remain relevant after 30, Jordy Nelson is 32 years old and without a doubt on the downslope of his career, and the Raiders signed not one, not two, but three defensive backs over 30.

The rest of the league has noticed, and the age of the Raiders’ offseason acquisitions has become an easy joke around the league.

But no one should be surprised that Gruden is opting to bring in veterans in his first offseason back in charge of the Raiders.

Gruden has always favored veterans because

Sacramento BEE/TNS Oakland Raiders head coach Jon Gruden is building an offense around a smashmouth run game that sets up play action and is valuing experienced players and everything that comes with it over potential.

Gruden believes in systems.

And when you believe that systems win football games, the top attribute any player can have is discipline.