Jon Gruden Entering Make-Or-Break Year With Raiders

Jon Gruden Entering Make-Or-Break Year With Raiders

As Jon Gruden enters his fourth season as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, he must prove he is the right man for the job.

www.thecoldwire.com

Jon Gruden Entering Make-Or-Break Year With Raiders​

Jon Gruden has been the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders for the past three seasons.

He was signed to a 10-year, $100 million contract in 2018, when the Raiders were still based in Oakland.

Heading into the 2021 season, Gruden is the third-highest paid head coach in the NFL behind the New England Patriots’ Bill Belichick and Seattle Seahawks’ Pete Carroll.

For that reason alone, it would be shocking to see the Raiders fire Gruden.

He also has a no-trade clause in his contract so he can’t be dealt like he was in 2002.

But Gruden’s numbers haven’t been pretty in his three years with the Raiders.

The team has gone just 19-29 and has yet to make the postseason.



View: https://twitter.com/sportsondirectv/status/1425849048372629506?s=21

There has been gradual improvement as the Raiders went 4-12, then 7-9, before going 8-8 last season.

However, if the Raiders don’t make some noise in the postseason, fans will start clamoring for Gruden to be replaced.

As the Raiders enter the 2021 season, Gruden must improve in these key areas to prove he is the right man for the job.

Defense

Through Gruden’s tenure, the Raiders have had one of the worst defenses in the NFL.

Year One: 26th overall, 19th in passing, 30th in rushing

Year Two: 19th overall, 25th in passing, 8th in rushing

Year Three: 25th overall, 26th in passing, 24th overall

The Raiders have been awful at getting to the quarterback.

In his first year, the team registered just 13 sacks, worst in the NFL as the Raiders were the only franchise to not eclipse 30.

They finished 25th in 2019 with 32 before placing 29th with 21 last season.

It is hard to make it to the playoffs with a defense that struggles in both the rushing and passing department.

It looks like Gruden got that message as the Raiders’ D has looked impressive in joint practices with the Los Angeles Rams.



View: https://twitter.com/united_raiders/status/1428062736773107712?s=21

However, once the games start counting, Gruden needs to ensure there is real improvement on the defense side of the football.

If Las Vegas continues to struggle, like they have in his first three seasons, it will be hard for the team to truly break through into the playoffs.

Derek Carr

Derek Carr has been with the Raiders since 2014.

He made the Pro Bowl in three consecutive seasons from 2015-2017.

However, he has yet to earn that achievement in Gruden’s three years at the helm.

Over those three seasons, Carr has thrown for 12,206 yards, 67 touchdowns, and 27 interceptions.

Carr hasn’t necessarily been bad over the past three seasons.

Just last year, he finished 11th in the league in passing yards (4,103) and passing touchdowns (27).

The problem is that Carr has not proven he can elevate the Raiders or that he can be a special guy in the NFL.

Yes, he has been consistent, but with Patrick Mahomes becoming the ideal quarterback, one that can win you a game and make a big play on any down, Carr has proven he is not that.

Throughout Gruden’s tenure, the Raiders have been connected to quarterbacks such as Kyler Murray and all of the top quarterbacks in the 2021 NFL Draft class.

Yet, Gruden has stuck with Carr.

And maybe that’s a good thing, as Carr is the franchise’s all-time passing leader with 26,896 yards.

But Gruden and Carr have yet to win the most important game of them all, a playoff game.

If Carr cannot elevate his game, and Gruden can’t help him get there, it will be a clear indication of where both stand in terms of organizational success.

Draft Blunders

The Raiders have not drafted well during Gruden’s tenure.

General manager Mike Mayock deserves some of the blame, but in football, it’s a team sport.

They did take Kolton Miller, who is currently the Raiders’ starting left tackle, in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft.

But outside of third-rounder Brandon Parker and seventh-rounder Marcell Ateman, no one from that 2018 draft class is still on the roster.

Las Vegas’ biggest blunder may have come in 2019 with the selection of Clelin Ferrell fourth overall.

Ferrell has just 6.5 sacks and 18 quarterback hits through his first two years in the league.

He is currently listed as a backup.

The Raiders did salvage their 2019 class with players such as Josh Jacobs, Maxx Crosby, Trayvon Mullen, Johnathan Abram, and Hunter Renfrow.



View: https://twitter.com/dougkyed/status/1428055267602804736?s=21

In 2020, the Raiders made Henry Ruggs the first wide receiver off the board with the No. 10 overall pick.

He still has time to turn it around, but he had a down rookie season, catching 26 passes for 452 yards and two touchdowns.

They may have found a starter in wide receiver Bryan Edwards in the third round, but fellow third-rounder Lynn Bowden is no longer with the team.

The point to all of this is to say that the Raiders’ 2021 draft class needs to perform in year one for Gruden.

First-round tackle Alex Leatherwood is currently penciled in as a starter.

As is second-round safety Trevon Moehrig.

If Gruden is to build a successful Raiders team, he needs to be able to not just identify talent, but develop it at the NFL level.

 

[Neil039]

I like all the faces Gruden makes… @Loyal

 

[Loyal]

Because this is what you said: "Gruden is a great coach, as long as Dungy creates the team for him the year before and then he plays the team he used to be HC for in the big game." Gotta give the guy credit for coaching the team that won it and building the team that lost it.

I mentioned that he had a competitive advantage because he knew, substantially, what his old offense would do and how his old QB would act under circumstances. I am pretty sure that he shared any deficiencies with his old team with his Tampa Bay DC. Therefore, he had a competitive advantage.

He did not build the Tampa Bay team, Dungy did. Now you could say that he was able to use the tools Dungy passed down to him, but his competitive advantage against trhe Raiders is true too. His following years showed he got lucky in Oakland, or someone built that team for him, becuse he has sucked building a team for whatever reason. ever since.

 

[Loyal]

I like all the faces Gruden makes… @Loyal

I do....Smile, Chucky!

 

[RamFan503]

The point @1maGoh is making is that Gruden built the AFC Champion he beat. So you can't say he couldn't build a winner when he did. The problem with Gruden is that he struggled building sustainable winners. He hated rookies and preferred to rely on aging vets. His teams would have short runs of success followed by periods of struggles when those vets fell apart due to age. I actually think Gruden is a decent HC, but he's terrible at building rosters due to his shortsightedness and lack of patience.

Gruden might be a "decent" coach - but 10 year, 10 MILLION decent? FFS, Jeff Fisher has a higher win percentage.

Gruden couldn't take the Faiduhs to the SB but was able to beat his former team with a pretty stacked and well coached roster. So here he is coaching a very good team against his old team with a coach who decides in his infinite wisdom that he should leave all the offensive formations the same. Brilliant!

He took Dungy's team, won a SB, then won 12 games over the next two seasons. Color me unimpressed.

 

[Loyal]

Gruden might be a "decent" coach - but 10 year, 10 MILLION decent? FFS, Jeff Fisher has a higher win percentage.

Gruden couldn't take the Faiduhs to the SB but was able to beat his former team with a pretty stacked and well coached roster. So here he is coaching a very good team against his old team with a coach who decides in his infinite wisdom that he should leave all the offensive formations the same. Brilliant!

He took Dungy's team, won a SB, then won 12 games over the next two seasons. Color me unimpressed.

Thank you.

 

[jrry32]

I mentioned that he had a competitive advantage because he knew, substantially, what his old offense would do and how his old QB would act under circumstances. I am pretty sure that he shared any deficiencies with his old team with his Tampa Bay DC. Therefore, he had a competitive advantage.

He did not build the Tampa Bay team, Dungy did. Now you could say that he was able to use the tools Dungy passed down to him, but his competitive advantage against trhe Raiders is true too. His following years showed he got lucky in Oakland, or someone built that team for him, becuse he has sucked building a team for whatever reason. ever since.

He didn't get lucky in Oakland. His Oakland team fell apart for the same reason his TB team did. He relied too much on aging players. You can keep talking about the competitive advantage, but it's only impressive to me that the team Gruden built that relied on his system played the team he was currently coaching in the Super Bowl. That speaks highly of him. I've noted his shortcomings, but it seems silly to me to knock him for what happened in 2002. That was the Year of Gruden.

Gruden might be a "decent" coach - but 10 year, 10 MILLION decent? FFS, Jeff Fisher has a higher win percentage.

Gruden couldn't take the Faiduhs to the SB but was able to beat his former team with a pretty stacked and well coached roster. So here he is coaching a very good team against his old team with a coach who decides in his infinite wisdom that he should leave all the offensive formations the same. Brilliant!

He took Dungy's team, won a SB, then won 12 games over the next two seasons. Color me unimpressed.

Gruden would have taken the 2002 Raiders to the Super Bowl and likely would have won it, so again, the winning with Dungy's team argument isn't availing to me. At that point in time, he was one of the NFL's best coaches. Now, he's decent. But the Raiders gave him all that money because they were moving to Las Vegas. It was a PR move.

Either ways, I'll continue to say that the biggest mistake they made wasn't hiring Gruden to be HC. You can do a lot worse. It wasn't the money. This is the NFL. Who gives a shit about what you're paying your HC? The teams have plenty of money. It was giving Gruden control of personnel decisions and hiring Mayock. They should have hired a legitimate GM and given him control of personnel. If Gruden wasn't game for that, find another HC. Because Gruden's biggest shortcoming has always been his teambuilding.

On a final note, the fact that the Raiders made the Super Bowl while being coached by Bill Callahan, who did nothing to change the system and only proved in later years that he was a terrible HC, actually demonstrates just how great of a job Gruden did with that team. They basically relied on what Gruden built (the team and system) to make the Super Bowl despite having a guy who wasn't HC material.

 

[RamFan503]

He didn't get lucky in Oakland. His Oakland team fell apart for the same reason his TB team did. He relied too much on aging players. You can keep talking about the competitive advantage, but it's only impressive to me that the team Gruden built that relied on his system played the team he was currently coaching in the Super Bowl. That speaks highly of him. I've noted his shortcomings, but it seems silly to me to knock him for what happened in 2002. That was the Year of Gruden.

Gruden would have taken the 2002 Raiders to the Super Bowl and likely would have won it, so again, the winning with Dungy's team argument isn't availing to me. At that point in time, he was one of the NFL's best coaches. Now, he's decent. But the Raiders gave him all that money because they were moving to Las Vegas. It was a PR move.

Either ways, I'll continue to say that the biggest mistake they made wasn't hiring Gruden to be HC. You can do a lot worse. It wasn't the money. This is the NFL. Who gives a shit about what you're paying your HC? The teams have plenty of money. It was giving Gruden control of personnel decisions and hiring Mayock. They should have hired a legitimate GM and given him control of personnel. If Gruden wasn't game for that, find another HC. Because Gruden's biggest shortcoming has always been his teambuilding.

On a final note, the fact that the Raiders made the Super Bowl while being coached by Bill Callahan, who did nothing to change the system and only proved in later years that he was a terrible HC, actually demonstrates just how great of a job Gruden did with that team. They basically relied on what Gruden built (the team and system) to make the Super Bowl despite having a guy who wasn't HC material.

Meh. You can defend a coach that has barely won more than 50% of his games all you want.

He doesn't win that Superbowl with the Faiduhs and wouldn't have won in Tampa without a loaded team that Dungy consistently had in the playoffs.

Have at it though.

 

[jrry32]

Meh. You can defend a coach that has barely won more than 50% of his games all you want.

He doesn't win that Superbowl with the Faiduhs and wouldn't have won in Tampa without a loaded team that Dungy consistently had in the playoffs.

Have at it though.

That's an illogical stance. Who would have beaten them? They made the Super Bowl with an inarguably worse coach using Gruden's system and roster. There's no good argument they would not have been there. Who in the NFC would have defeated them?

 

[OldSchool]

They're facing (possibly) tax evasion fines. As long as that's looming and Davis is in charge he's not paying Gruden to not coach them. He will finish out his 10 years IMO if he wants to.

 

[Merlin]

Yep. Gruden not going anywhere for a while. Raider fans can piss and moan all they want lol.

 

[Corbin]

I like all the faces Gruden makes… @Loyal

Nothing better than when he’s pissed ! Lol

 

[snackdaddy]

If it wasn't for the Patriots favoritism Gruden woulda made the Superbowl in 2000 and got demolished by the Rams.

 

[RamFan503]

Who in the NFC would have defeated them?

How about TB coached by numerous other coaches. Coaches that would have won more than 12 games over the next two seasons.

I know... Crazy talk.

Gruden has feasted off that SB win even though the rest of his career has been rife with mediocrity.

 

[jrry32]

How about TB coached by numerous other coaches. Coaches that would have won more than 12 games over the next two seasons.

I know... Crazy talk.

Gruden has feasted off that SB win even though the rest of his career has been rife with mediocrity.

TB coached by numerous other coaches wouldn't have all the inside information on that offense. And the only time the Dungy Tampa Bay Bucs played the Gruden Raiders, the Bucs lost 45-0. So I wouldn't be putting my money on the Bucs in that scenario (unless they had Belicheat, which wouldn't have been possible).

 

[Merlin]

I think some of you guys underestimate Chucky. He's not an elite head coach by any means. But he's one smart dude especially with offense. He has a good eye for coaches too.

I've liked him since that QB Camp he did with Goff. The guy straight predicted exactly what would happen to Jared. He's a pretty sharp dude.

That said I am really glad McVay's our coach. THAT is what an elite HC looks like MFers.