The Oakland Raiders are well aware of how special of a football mind Jon Gruden truly is, but unfortunately, they realized it too late in 2002 when the Gruden-led Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated them in Super Bowl XXXVII. With the Raiders in a heap of trouble due to a winless record and declining interest in the team, it appears the only way out of the dark hole they have fallen in is bringing Gruden back. However, there is no denying it will cost Oakland big if they want to lure him in.
According to sources for CBS Sports, Gruden will require a minimum of $10 million per season to return to coaching, especially for a dismal Raiders team. I have to imagine it will require more than that. Gruden has a great thing going at ESPN. His schedule is flexible, the money is good and he does not have to deal with the various amounts of stress that NFL head coaches must endure for several months out of the year.
What would certainly entice Gruden to leave his Monday Night Football job would be if he had some significant control within the organization. That means restructuring the Raiders to his satisfaction.
Even if Oakland gave Gruden the money and control he wants, the biggest question would be if he would even want to return to a place that kicked him out after posting consecutive successful seasons. After carrying the team out the gutter (the Raiders posted a 4-12 record the year before Gruden arrived), Davis decided to trade him to the Buccaneers for a steep price. Clearly, it was in favor of Tampa Bay as Gruden led them to a Super Bowl win in his first season with them. Still, the sting of being kicked out after leading the Raiders to back-to-back AFC West titles must still be lingering after all of these years.
It would obviously be in Oakland’s best interest to hire Gruden as the next head coach. Unfortunately for them, even an offer that could be the most lucrative a team has ever offered a single person in the history of the league still might not be good enough. At this point, the Raiders must hope for the best.
Increasing the stakes certainly would not hurt, especially since I cannot imagine there is a person who is capable of turning the team around the way Gruden can.
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