Gruden reflective on team’s possible Coliseum farewell
Raiders head coach Jon Gruden, known for his perpetual grimace and simmering intensity, became uncommonly reflective Monday, even a bit nostalgic.
Amid the dreariness of a 3-11 season heading nowhere, Gruden was asked about his favorite memories of the Oakland Coliseum. Monday night’s game against Denver might be the Raiders’ final game at the stadium.
“I’ve got a lot of memories,” Gruden said during his weekly news conference. “I’m really sensitive about hearing that. It’s going to be a great atmosphere: Monday night, Christmas Eve, Broncos coming to town. I get excited thinking about it.
“Just rocking and raging down there in the Black Hole after the Steelers’ game (Dec. 9), after a lot of wins over the years. Seeing the old highlights of great Raiders teams. I get emotional. Hopefully, it will all get resolved so we can continue to play there.”
The city of Oakland filed a lawsuit last week against the Raiders over their impending move to Las Vegas. The Raiders responded by withdrawing from a tentative agreement to play next season in Oakland.
So there’s a good chance this Broncos-Raiders game will count as a Silver and Black farewell to the concrete bowl alongside Interstate 880.
The Raiders played at the Coliseum from 1966 through ’81, then returned in 1995 after spending 13 seasons in Los Angeles. Gruden coached the team for four seasons (19982001) in his inaugural whirl as head coach, before returning this year.
He knows the Coliseum, despite its lack of charm and modern amenities, carries old-school flavor and a strong, unmistakable sense of history.
“It’s a real football stadium,” Gruden said. “It’s dirt, grass. It has tradition — it’s where some of the best games in the history of football have been played. It’s where some of the best players in history have played.
“You walk around before the Steelers’ game and you see Franco Harris and Lester Hayes, you think about some of the battles they had in that place. Reggie Jackson lighting the torch. A lot of things have happened in that stadium.”
Gruden then smirked and chuckled as he said, “Next question. I don’t want to start crying about a stadium.”
Soon thereafter, Gruden acknowledged Monday night’s game will be weird, knowing it could be the last time the Raiders play at the Coliseum. They finish their season Dec. 30 at Kansas City.
Gruden compared the feeling of a potential farewell to what he experienced in 2008, when he was Tampa Bay’s head coach. The Bucs lost to Dallas on the road, during the Cowboys’ final season at Texas Stadium.
On memories at the Coliseum, Gruden specifically mentioned Kenny Stabler’s famous “Sea of Hands” pass to Clarence Davis in a divisional playoff victory over Miami on Dec. 21, 1974.
“I like the old stadiums,” Gruden said. “I like the traditional joints, to be honest with you. But I’m also excited about the future of the Raiders. It’s a sentimental time.”
As for whether he might tap into this emotion to motivate his players, Gruden listed injuries and other practical concerns engulfing the 2018 Raiders.
“We have to deal with the day-to-day aspect of preparing for the game,” he said, “and then maybe the night before the game, we’ll sauce up a video for the guys.”
“I get emotional. Hopefully, it will all get resolved so we can continue to play there.” Jon Gruden, Raiders head coach, on the Oakland Coliseum