The Oakland Raiders are hoping to reunite with former head coach Jon Gruden and plan to offer him their head coaching job along with an ownership stake in the team, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen.
Oakland is preparing to pursue ESPN analyst Jon Gruden with an offer so strong it could even include an ownership stake in the Raiders, according to league sources.
Gruden will be tempted to accept it, according to sources, but would prefer not to make any decisions until the regular season finishes Sunday and the Raiders make a final determination on their current head coach, Jack Del Rio, who signed a contract extension last summer.
Raiders owner Mark Davis has offered Gruden an ownership stake in the past, according to sources, and if he were willing to do so again, the contract then would have to be approved by all 32 NFL owners. The NFL's finance committee also would have to vet Gruden, but there is no reason to think it would not approve the deal.
Should Gruden accept the offer, the Raiders will fire Del Rio. If he doesn't there's a good chance that Del Rio sticks around for another year before the franchise moves to Las Vegas.
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Gruden has flirted with the idea of returning to coaching in recent years and was reportedly close to taking the head coaching job at Tennessee before turning it down.
He has not coached since the 2008 season, working for ESPN on Monday Night Football since 2009.
Gruden went 95-81 in 11 seasons as an NFL head coach, being with the Raiders from 1998-2001 while never having a losing record. However, he was fired after the 2001 season and went to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he coached from 2002-2008 and won Super Bowl XXXVII in his first year with the franchise.
Del Rio is in his third season as Oakland's head coach with a 25-21 record, including a 6-9 mark this season. Last year, he led the Raiders to their first playoff appearance since 2002.
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