After missing the playoffs this season and compiling a 6-10 record, the Oakland Raiders are on a search for a new head coach. Jack Del Rio was fired on Monday, and the Raiders already know their top target. According to multiple reports, the team is trying to get Jon Gruden back. Current Monday Night Football analyst already coached the Raiders from 1998 to 2001 and wouldn’t have anything against coming back.
“I think there’s a good chance. I’m excited about where I am in terms of studying the game and preparing to come back and coach, I just don’t want to sit here and speculate,” – Gruden said when asked whether there is a chance for him to coach the Raiders again. “It’s almost like – I don’t know what’s going to happen, I’ve got to be honest with you. It’s been a long couple of weeks, I know they’ve gone through their process of interviewing candidates and until they’re done I won’t know, but I did have a good meeting with Mark, I’ve known him a long time and got a lot of respect for the Raider football organization.“
Ever since he left the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2009, Gruden has been mentioned as a candidate for numerous vacant coach spots in NFL but never did take any. This time could be different, given his connection with the Raiders organization.
The decision to move on from Jack Del Rio might be a strange one for the Oakland Raiders – especially since Del Rio signed a 4-year contract extension at the beginning of the season – but the fact is that he didn’t do much this season. The 2017 season should have been the breakthrough for this Raiders team, but it turned out opposite and it looked like the team regressed. Del Rio had a 25-23 record during his time with the Raiders.
