The Oakland Raiders fired Dennis Allen and now Jon Gruden has been mentioned in rumors as a possible next head coach candidate for the franchise, as Mark Davis wants a strong voice in the locker room after Allen won just eight games over the past two seasons and while Gruden has long turned down head coaching jobs, he could look at this one after previously coaching for the franchise.
The Raiders made the move ahead of their bye week after playing the Miami Dolphins in London and came after Allen started the season 0-4. The team was rumored to be making this move and the AP reported earlier before retracting that Allen was fired and that the news would come out on Tuesday. According to Pro Football Talk, Jon Gruden could be a potential target for the franchise to hire as the next head coach, as owner Mark Davis would love to bring the former coach back onto the field with the Raiders.
Now obviously the major caveat is Gruden's interest in the job and based on the past few years, there's not a chance he will take it. Gruden has been linked to every job under the sun in past years, including the Raiders, Tennessee Volunteers, Buccaneers, Miami Dolphins and more and every time he has said that he is not interested. Gruden has been loving his TV career and as a Super Bowl winning head coach, he doesn't have much more to prove. Pro Football Talk writes that Davis would love to bring Gruden in to try and bring some respectability back to the franchise. The Mercury News and some others have also floated that Jim Harbaugh could be an option, but that just seems ridiculous.
Gruden has been hard on his stance that he enjoys his TV job and that he was not looking to get back into coaching. Many in the league feel that if a certain situation came along, Gruden would take it. The Raiders do not seem to be that team. Oakland has won eight games over the past two seasons and they are 0-4 this year with an injured rookie quarterback and a veteran whose status is up in the air. The Raiders have not been back to the playoffs since Gruden left and won over them in the Super Bowl and now the team may try and woo him back.
Davis and GM Reggie McKenzie broke down the team for two years before spending in free agency last offseason and so far things have not worked out. The trades for Matt Flynn and Matt Schaub have not worked out as planned and Terrelle Pryor wasn't the answer and now they have Matt McGloin and Derek Carr. The team was never in the mix under Allen and tings started to get worse this season with four straight losses.
The Raiders were beaten soundly in numerous games under Allen and they have taken major steps back, as they were 8-8 in two straight years before he took over. Davis has been criticized for his decisions and now McKenzie and the franchise will be looking for a new head coach. Gruden would be a dream option since the fans would love it, but they are so far away from winning right now that Gruden likely will not take the job.