Raiders' decision on Jon Gruden has reportedly been finalized - 'unchartered territory'
Jon Gruden will be the next head coach of the Oakland, soon to be Las Vegas, Raiders.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter and the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Friday that the agreement to hire Gruden has been finalized and he will sign the longest coaching contract in NFL history, a 10-year, $100 million deal.
The #Raiders coaching staff under Jon Gruden will be the most expensive in @NFL history: Jon Gruden will make $100M over 10 years. Coordinators are getting 4 year deals, sources say. 2 years in Oakland, 2 in Las Vegas.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 5, 2018
The team will announce Gruden as the next head coach on Tuesday morning, according to ESPN.
Breaking: The Oakland Raiders have scheduled a news conference for Tuesday at which time they will introduce Jon Gruden as their next head coach, as first reported by @RaidersSnakePit and confirmed by ESPN. pic.twitter.com/i5buMTAOjc
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 5, 2018
There had been reports that the Raiders’ offer to Gruden would include an ownership stake in the team, but Gruden said Wednesday there was “no validity” to the ownership stake speculation.
There was no indication in the ESPN story that the deal included an ownership stake, but if it did, it would have to be approved by the other NFL owners.
These were the numbers we were hearing tossed around last few days. Blew me away. Schefter nails it. Unchartered territory for coaching contracts. https://t.co/1yICgs7zuS
— Peter Schrager (@PSchrags) January 5, 2018
For Gruden, it marks a return to the franchise where he got his first head coaching position. He led the Raiders for four years from 1998 to 2001, taking them to the playoffs twice, including an AFC Championship game.
His Raiders lost the infamous “tuck rule” game against the Patriots on Jan. 19, 2002.
That was Gruden’s last game for the Raiders.
During that offseason, he was traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
He would go on to lead the Bucs to a 48-21 victory over his former team in Super Bowl XXXVII.
Gruden coached Tampa Bay for seven seasons, leading them to the playoffs two more times. He was fired in 2009 after a 9-7 season with the Bucs.
For his career, Gruden has a 95-81 regular season record as a head coach.
ESPN hired him in 2009 as a color analyst for “Monday Night Football,” a job he’s held through this past season.
The Raiders fired Jack Del Rio after the final game of 2017 after a disappointing 6-10 season. Coming off a 12-4 season in 2016, the Raiders were considered one of the favorites to win the AFC.
Gruden is the older brother of Redskins head coach Jay Gruden.
He certainly has a talented roster to work with in Oakland, including a good young quarterback in Derek Carr. Job one will be rebuilding the defense, which was among the worst in the NFL.
Gruden has been out of the game for nine years, but at 54, he’s still relatively young and has a pretty good track record.
He should bring some excitement back to Oakland — and Las Vegas.
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