When Jon Gruden was hired (re-hired?) as the coach of the Oakland Raiders earlier this year, he was handed a big, fat contract — perhaps the largest for a coach in NFL history — and a mandate to build a winner without delay.
For a coach who has effectively been out of the game for a decade, Gruden has been granted incredible — perhaps unilateral — power when it comes to the football side of the Raiders’ organization, and a few months into his tenure, it’s evident that he has no problem using it.
The result is a Raiders’ roster that appears to reflect the values and desires of the team’s old/new head coach.