Oakland Raiders: Did They Overthink the Jon Gruden Hire?

The man has yet to coach a game yet but it already feels like the Oakland Raiders made a grave miscalculation when they hired Jon Gruden.

Look, the reasoning behind the hire is easy enough to see. Gruden was the last man to usher in an era of consistent success for the Raiders. It’s likely they would’ve won a Super Bowl had they kept him in charge rather than shipping him off to Tampa Bay where he ended up winning it with the Buccaneers that same year. It feels like they’re trying to make up for that mistake even today, trying to ring a few more drops of good fortune out of that old cloth.

So they ignored the red flags and got it done. They ignored that Gruden had not coached on any sideline anywhere for a decade. They ignored the danger of putting such a rusty football mind in the GM role as well and they ignored the possibility that he might be willing to make some changes they weren’t ready for. It’s hard to ignore a growing feeling that Gruden isn’t positioning to make this team better.

Adam Rank of NFL.com went so far as to say Gruden is basically a con artist who is dragging the Raiders back to the Bronze Age of football.

"“Gruden made waves by saying he was going to take the game back to 1998, but he really didn’t mean that [expletive], right? He’s been connected to the game, so he can’t be that out of touch … right? I’d like to think that, but then he went out and invested in Jordy Nelson, who is the NFL receiving version of a fax machine.As in, it was ahead of the game at the time — now it’s merely a relic that you point at and say, “I remember when we used to use those.” Add in the fact he’s rarely spoken to Khalil Mack, and you get scared. Gruden said that if the Raiders don’t win, he would refuse his salary. Now I’m worried that his children are going to have to make their own Christmas presents this year.”"

Several roster decisions leave big question marks on Gruden

More from NFL Mocks

The Jordy Nelson deal was definitely a head-scratcher. In fact, the entire first half of the Raider’s draft this past spring rings with concerns. Kolton Miller the inconsistent tackle from UCLA. P.J. Hall a somewhat obscure nose tackle. Arden Key the head case pass rusher from LSU. These picks were clearly made by a coach, one who has supreme confidence in his ability to grind those young talents into the players they should be rather than the players they are.

Maybe he’s right, but again. This is basically the Gruden of 10 years. These aren’t the athletes of 10 years ago. They think and react differently today. The perfect example is Khalil Mack. Gruden is acting like he’s dealing with a Warren Sapp, somebody who will come crawling back eventually because the money issue isn’t a big thing. Except it is.

Sapp came around during a time when 1st round picks were far better compensated than they are today thanks to the rookie wage scale. Mack is looking for the big payday he’s been working towards for four years and seems prepared to fight for it. Gruden isn’t grasping this, which is why his apparent silent treatment is having the opposite effect.

The Raiders better hope he’s able to learn about this new environment quickly. Otherwise the franchise will have come to a quick realization they tried to plug an engine from a 20-year old race car into a modern vehicle.

Home/NFL Hot Takes