The Raiders have a new head coach who is also their old head coach, and they’re reportedly going to pay him a fortune to come back to Oakland before moving with the team to Las Vegas.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Raiders have agreed to give Gruden, who coached the Raiders from 1998 to 2001 before being traded to the Buccaneers, a 10-year contract worth approximately $100 million. It’s the longest head coaching contract in NFL history.
Gruden will replace Jack Del Rio, who was fired earlier this month after three seasons at the helm in Oakland. Gruden is expected to be introduced as the Raiders new head coach during what’s being described as a "splashy" press conference on Tuesday.
It’s not exactly a surprise that Gruden is back in black and silver again. Raiders owner Mark Davis has reportedly been trying to convince the now-former Monday Night Football analyst to come back to Oakland for years. But Gruden’s deal with the Raiders is sparking a lot of reactions within the NFL community due to the length of it and the amount of money he’s going to get paid, even though it’s been about a decade since he’s coached in an official capacity in the NFL. The debate over whether or not Gruden is worth $100M is taking place on social media as we speak, with most people choosing the "not" side of things.
It seems like it’s going to be just about impossible for Gruden to live up to this contract. But with the Raiders preparing to make a move to Vegas and the team looking to get over the hump and get back to its winning ways, this was probably the kind of splashy move they needed to make to reenergize their diehard fanbase, even if it is going to cost them dearly.
