For almost 16 years, Jon Gruden had a gnawing sensation.
“There is unfinished business,” Gruden said Tuesday at his introductory press conference, just after joking, “Thanks for bringing up the tuck rule. And thanks for reminding me how old we are.”
On a bitter January night in New England in 2002, Gruden’s first turn as the Raiders’ head coach ended in a gut-wrenching way — a fumble by Patriots quarterback Tom Brady that officials overturned and deemed an incomplete pass under the NFL’s obscure ‘tuck rule.’ It was a controversial play that launched a New England dynasty and has haunted the Raiders ever since.