Oakland Raiders: Why Jon Gruden likely signed off on Mack trade

There’s always a reason behind momentous decisions in pro sports. It’s no different for Oakland Raiders head coach Jon Gruden.

He put a major target on his back when he paved the way for his team to trade superstar pass rusher Khalil Mack to the Chicago Bears. It was such a move out of left field because it doesn’t happen. Teams don’t give away great players in their primes at such valuable positions. Not unless that player has become such a headache it’s impossible to deal with him. Mack was nothing of the sort. So what in the world possessed Gruden to do that?

The main explanation was a simple case of money. Mack wanted a massive new contract, one that would guarantee him $90 million. That wasn’t something the Raiders were prepared in any way to accept. Since the 27-year old dug his heels in with a holdout and wasn’t willing to negotiate, it left them with a decision. Either meet his demands or trade him. They chose the latter. Whether it was the right call will be heavily debated for years to come.

There may be a deeper reasoning for Gruden doing this though, and it stems from how his last coaching run ended.

Gruden wants to avoid a repeat of his difficult days in Tampa Bay

The man was on top of the world in early 2003. His Tampa Bay Buccaneers were Super Bowl champions and many were proclaiming him the next big thing among head coaches. Nobody could’ve predicted that Gruden would make the playoffs just twice more over the next six seasons and wouldn’t even reach an NFC championship. Nevermind another Super Bowl. So what happened?

Jenna Laine of ESPN offered a possible explanation, and it had to do with how limited his resources were in reloading the roster following his championship success.

From 2003 through 2008, the Buccaneers would draft just three players who ended up going to at least one Pro Bowl during their careers. Two of them came that final years which would be the last of Gruden’s tenure in Aqib Talib and Jeremy Zuttah. Gruden must’ve left wondering how different things could’ve been if he’d had the money and draft currency necessary to sustain the roster he wanted.

No doubt this spurred his decision to part ways with Mack. He retains a large amount of cap space he can allocate to other positions and the addition of high draft choices from Chicago give him the flexibility to load up on young talent. At least that’s the hope. None of it matters if he can’t deliver on the picks. His track record with 1st rounders in Tampa was erratic, so it’s a tossup.