Jon Gruden resigns from Raiders amidst email controversy

The Las Vegas Raiders will begin searching for a new head coach with Jon Gruden now out of the fray. Investigative reports from the NFL revealed some incriminating email messages from Gruden. In his exchange online, Gruden cited multiple uses of misogyny, racism, and homophobia.

The comments he made involve digs at the league commissioner Roger Goodell. In addition, he took issue with the drafting of Michael Sam in 2014, the implementation of female referees, and players protesting during the national anthem. Gruden also exchanged photos of topless women with former Washington executive Bruce Allen, one of which included a team cheerleader.

These artifacts were found during the league’s ongoing investigation into the Washington Football Team for workplace misconduct. The emails from Gruden range back to 2010, when he still worked for ESPN as a commentator on Monday Night Football. Gruden has since apologized for his conduct, and accordingly, walked away from his post. Las Vegas posted a 22-31 record in Jon Gruden’s late tenure. He was in the fourth of a ten-year, $100M deal with the team.

While the situation in Washington remains unresolved, this late investigation has caused great turmoil within the Raiders organization. We’ll see how they plan to go about themselves coming out of this.

Where do the Raiders go from here?

With Gruden gone, Mike Mayock will assume greater control of the roster in the meantime. Assistant coach Rich Bisaccia will reportedly take on the head coaching role in the interim. Vegas got off to a torrent start to the season, winning each of their first three games. Unfortunately for them, consecutive losses in the last two weeks have tamped them down the conference standings.

As the organization continues to slump through this latest controversy, the team could quickly lose its way as the year treads on. They will travel to Denver this weekend to take on their division rival Broncos. Since they both come in at 3-2 on the season, this game will substantially affect their standing in the AFC. For the Raiders especially, it could be a way to help jumpstart the team back into focus. Las Vegas opens the week as three-point underdogs for this game.