Getty Former Raiders head coach Jon Gruden.
The Las Vegas Raiders are now multiple weeks removed from losing head coach Jon Gruden but he still remains a major talking point. The coach’s resignation came after offensive emails sent by him were leaked from the NFL’s investigation into the Washington Football Team. Though Gruden resigned and was not fired, the Raiders still had to reach a settlement with the coach.
When he was hired by the team in 2018, he signed a contract for 10 years worth $100 million. He wasn’t even halfway through his contract and likely still had plenty of guarantees left on the deal. Raiders owner Mark Davis had a chance to speak to the media during this week’s NFL owners meetings and simply said “yes” when asked if Gruden and the team had reached a settlement, according to The Athletic’s Vic Tafur.
Davis didn’t offer any specific terms so it’s hard to know how much the coach was paid. Regardless, the Gruden saga is over for the Raiders as the settlement should end any dealings the two sides had going forward.
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Davis Wants Written Report on Washington Football Team
While nobody is defending the language Gruden used in the emails, there have been questions as to why the Raiders coach was the only person to go down for an investigation that was being done on the Washington Football Team. Davis didn’t understand why it took so long for his team didn’t get the information from the NFL and blasted the league for the timing of the emails coming out.
“It’s a timing issue, that’s probably the disappointment that I had,” Davis said, via Tafur. “If we had gotten the information in the summer, when they learned about it, it would have been a lot easier for everyone involved.”
The Raiders owner also went after the Washington Football Team. He became the only owner to come out and say there needs to be a written report on the investigation.
“Yeah, absolutely,” Davis said. “I think someone should be looking at this. … (The league has) seen all the emails, we have not. … I think that there should be, especially with some of the things that were charged.”
Those comments aren’t bound to win Davis any favor with the other owners but he has every right to question why his team is the only one to suffer serious consequences from the investigation.
Mark Davis on if he would like to see a written report from the WFT investigation: “Probably. Yeah, I think that there should be…”
Davis Has Spoken to Gruden
Though Davis has come out hard against everything Gruden had to say in the emails, there’s also a human element to the situation. Davis was very close with the coach and couldn’t hide his excitement when he hired him. He revealed that he has spoken to the coach recently and details how Gruden is feeling.
“He’s hurt, he’s really hurt, and I understand that,” Davis said. “But he understands the ramifications of what he said. I love Jon and I love his family. We all have demons in our lives, and you have to understand that, and you also have to look at redemption as well.”
It would’ve been impossible for the Raiders to move forward with the coach as the leader of the team but it doesn’t sound like Davis is going to completely cut Gruden out of his life.
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