Raiders Opinion: A New Day In The Desert
With the news of Jon Gruden’s resignation following the release of crude and offensive emails he had sent to other league officials, the Las Vegas Raiders need to trad water. The Raiders named special teams coach Rich Bisaccia as their interim head coach. Typically, when an interim head coach is named, the season looks all but over. This time, circumstance expedited the move.
Around FPC
NFL: Raiders Opinion: The End Of The Gruden Regime
NFL: Tom Brady Continues MVP Pace In Win Over Dolphins
Fantasy: Miami Gives Up Second Most Yards in Flores Era, Hammered by Bucs
NHL: Montreal Canadiens Carey Price Entering NHL/NHL Player Assistance Program
Wrestling: WWE Must Retire The WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships
PODCAST: Full Press NFL Podcast Ep 14: Russell Wilson Injury, Chiefs/Bills, Week 5 Preview
New Leader
The Raiders named an interim head coach in-between weeks five and six of the NFL season. Due to the seventeenth game added to schedules this year, the Raiders still have 12 games remaining on their schedule. After starting 3-0, are still in no position to throw the season away. With his combined record of 15-17 in his final two seasons, missed draft picks, and questionable redzone offense, many were not particularly upset to see Gruden leave due to his coaching track record alone.
Inherited Mess
With the Raiders trending downward, having lost their last two games while looking like a shell of the team that started this season 3-0, it had begun to feel as though Gruden had begun building his coffin and that his egregious 10-year, $100 million contract would not make it to its full term. The emails sent by Gruden and uncovered during the NFL’s investigation of the Washington Football Team quickly drove the final nails into the coffin, leaving the Raiders in the wake.
Opportunity
Now, Las Vegas has an opportunity to reinvent itself. It is believed that Gruden ruled the Raiders organization with a “my way or the highway” mentality which tends to not work out flawlessly without the backing of current success. With Bisaccia coming in, the Raiders can work with their interim head coach and potentially redesign the offense.
Spring Ahead
There were many aspects of Gruden’s coaching strategy that felt “late-90s-esque,” including increased use of the run game and a horribly uncreative redzone offense, and these could play major roles in the Raiders struggles. Throughout the first quarter of the 2021 NFL season, the Raiders fared better when Derek Carr is able to run his “air-raid” style of play. Gruden seemed to begrudgingly run this offense when Josh Jacobs could not play. Yet, as soon as Jacobs returned, they reverted back to the run. Jacobs plays well, and he has proven that by rushing over 1,000 yards in each of his first two seasons, but that does not mean he needs to be given the ball on first and second down on a regular basis. A major aspect of Gruden’s playcalling was establishing the run, even when the rush attempts do not go anywhere.
Realization
While none expected him to go out like this, Gruden grasped the frayed ends of his proverbial rope coming into this season. The defense improved and the offense dominated at times. Maybe all the Raiders need to take the next step is a new coach.
