The veteran head coach appeared to be building a backwards-looking laughing stock. But now the team look like they have a bright future
The Oakland Raiders are a playoff contender and Jon Gruden deserves the bulk of the credit.
Twelve months ago, the Raiders and their $100m head coach were a laughing stock. They had traded the team’s two best players, Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper. The team’s owner was battling with the team’s current landlords in Oakland, was uprooting the team to
Las Vegas, and didn’t have the cash to sign mega-money player extensions or to even contemplate letting Gruden out of his contract for at least seven years.