NFL Oakland Raiders

Oakland Raiders Must Look Elsewhere With Jon Gruden Out Of The Mix

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By @Kevin_Saito

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Given the fact that the Oakland Raiders will be looking for a permanent head coach a little more than two weeks for now, some big names keep turning up as possible candidates to replace interim head coach Tony Sparano. Fans have been inundated with endless speculation about the San Francisco 49ers‘ Jim Harbaugh making the move across the Bay. There’s also been unending speculation that Jon Gruden, the last head coach to have success with the franchise, might be coming back to Oakland.

Well, news that broke on Monday night should end the latter speculation once and for all, much to the chagrin and dismay of Raiders fans everywhere.

During this week’s Monday Night Football broadcast, since the New Orleans Saints laying a 31-15 beatdown on the Chicago Bears wasn’t keeping viewers interested, co-host Mike Tirico broke the news that Gruden and ESPN have reached an agreement on a contract extension that will keep the former Super Bowl-winning head coach with the network through 2021.

Gruden may leave the broadcast booth for the sidelines at some point in the future, but it certainly won’t be with the Raiders in this coming season. Apparently, the flirtation between Raiders owner Mark Davis and Gruden actually was nothing more than that.

You can’t really blame Gruden for making the decision to re-up with ESPN. Why in the world would you give up a cushy, extremely-well paid gig up in the booth to come back down to the sidelines, where somebody wants your head seemingly every other day and where your livelihood and financial stability relies on 53 other guys doing their job to the best of their abilities?

The Raiders being able to lure Gruden back down to the sidelines was probably a longshot anyway, but now that he’s made it official, Oakland can move forward in their coaching search, one that should not begin and end completely on the other side of the Bay. Of course, Gruden’s contract will contain a lot of opt-outs and buyouts should he want to walk before the life of the contract is up, but he is not an option for a team looking for a coach for 2015.

Perhaps Gruden re-upping with ESPN will be a good thing for the Raiders. Without Gruden, and possibly with Harbaugh not in the mix for their head coaching vacancy, the Raiders will be forced to expand their search and draw from a wide pool of candidates rather than simply locking in on just one or two guys.

Having more options to draw from may ultimately yield a terrific coach who will help restore the luster to the Raiders’ franchise.

Kevin Saito is a fiction writer, sports junkie, history nerd, and NFL contributor to www.RantSports.com Follow him on Twitter, Facebook, or on Google

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