Jon Gruden calls out Stephen A. Smith, debunks ownership report
It appears more likely than not that Jon Gruden will return to coaching next season with the Oakland Raiders.
While some may wonder if he can readjust to the demands of being an NFL coach, he proved Wednesday that he’ll have no problem readjusting to battling with the media.
Gruden refuted a report by ESPN — his current employer — that he will be given a stake in ownership if he agrees to become coach of the Raiders.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen reported Sunday that Raiders owner Mark Davis had previously offered Gruden an ownership stake as an incentive to get him to return as Raiders coach, and Davis’ latest attempt to hire Gruden could include a piece of the team as well.
Tuesday on ESPN’s “First Take,” Stephen A. Smith blasted the notion of Gruden receiving a stake in the franchise.
“Jon Gruden does not deserve an ownership stake in an NFL franchise,” Smith said. “Not unless he’s coming out of pocket with his own money and investing, and they vet you and let you in. He does not deserve to have an ownership stake in a franchise. It should not be allowed.”
Smith said Gruden is a good choice as a coach, but doesn’t believe he is deserving of a perk no other coach in the league receives.
“If you want to give Jon Gruden the coaching job for the Oakland Raiders, no problem. He had success there, never had a losing season, had two winning seasons,” Smith said. “Jon Gruden’s a hell of a football mind, give him the damn job and that’s fine. But ownership? Does Bill Belichick have an ownership stake? Does Bill Parcells have an ownership stake? Does Mike Tomlin have an ownership stake? Did Tony Dungy have an ownership stake?”
Gruden appeared Wednesday on ESPN Radio’s “Golic and Wingo” and said Smith was getting worked up about nothing.
“There’s no truth to that at all,” Gruden said of the ownership claim. “I heard Stephen Smith screaming at me on TV yesterday on one of his shows. That’s one of the most … there’s no validity to that at all. None. Zero. That’s a nice segment that I saw, but no ownership, that’s for sure.”
One reason the reports of ownership in the team might not be true is Davis likely realizes the league’s other 31 owners would have to approve any change in the ownership structure of the team.
The #Raiders are confident Jon Gruden will say yes eventually, though he is being careful about doing so before they comply with the Rooney Rule and he is still on the books to broadcast a game Saturday for ESPN. Gruden is already planning to call plays, hire DC Paul Guenther.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 1, 2018
But even without the ownership incentive, reports suggest the Raiders are likely to offer Gruden a lucrative package that would make him the highest-paid coach in the league.
After initially denying he had spoken to anyone about the Raiders job, Gruden admitted on “Golic and Wingo” that he is interested in the position.
“I think there’s a good chance,” Gruden said when asked if he would accept the job if the Raiders offered it to him.
Any job offer isn’t likely to finalized before Sunday. Gruden is scheduled to work the AFC wild-card game at Tennessee on Saturday for ESPN, which is his final broadcasting assignment of the season.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
