The hunt for a new head coach will be critical for Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis, who has had to deal with former head coach Josh McDaniels’ incompetence.
Davis brought on Dave Ziegler and McDaniels in the hopes of erecting his version of the New England Patriots, but the two instead dragged the franchise into the ground with one bad choice after another. Davis finally fired Ziegler and McDaniels, handing over the Raiders to Champ Kelly and Antonio Brown.
Pierce has done an excellent job of rallying the locker room and keeping the team competitive, but he still needs to demonstrate that he is worth keeping around in the long run. The players have loved having Pierce in charge, but the final decision rests with Davis, who is known for making bold moves.
According to Sports Illustrated’s Holden Carpenter, Davis is eyeing a reunion with former Raiders head coach Jon Gruden via The Las Vegas Raiders Insider podcast:
“I’m going to tell you that there are a lot of people who believe that Mark Davis trusts Jon Gruden more than [Tom] Brady and Jim Gray and would love to bring him back.” I’m hearing from many sources across the league that if Jon were prepared to dismiss his lawsuit, the NFL would give a passive nod to re-hire him… “Everyone keeps bringing up Jon Gruden.”
“I’m going to tell you that there are a lot of people who believe that Mark Davis trusts Jon Gruden more than [Tom] Brady and Jim Gray and would love to bring him back.” I’m hearing from many sources across the league that if Jon were prepared to dismiss his lawsuit, the NFL would give a passive nod to re-hire him… “Everyone keeps bringing up Jon Gruden.”
Given what happened years ago, it appears like re-hiring Gruden would be unpopular with the league and the fanbase. There’s no arguing that Gruden knows football as well as anyone, but the optics wouldn’t be ideal.
