Las Vegas Raiders Profile: Jon Gruden, Head Coach

We're all counting down the clock until football is back. In the series finale, we take a quick dive into the leader of the Raiders, head coach Jon Gruden.

Jon Gruden, Head Coach

Jon Gruden is entering his 21st season in the NFL, the third season in his second stint with the Raiders franchise.

Gruden followed in his father's footsteps and began coaching in the league in 1990, as an offensive quality control coach for the San Francisco 49ers. He has held numerous coaching positions with five franchises over three decades, including taking a decade break from coaching between 2008-2017.

Gruden's teams have been to the playoffs five times as a head coach and won Super Bowl XXXVII in 2003 as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' head coach against the Oakland Raiders, 48-21.

In that said campaign, Gruden established a franchise record for the Bucs with 12 wins in the regular season and an overall 15 wins in a single season. At the time, Gruden became the youngest NFL coach to win the Super Bowl and only the third head coach to do so in his first year. He was 39 years old. Gruden would maintain this record until 2008, when Mike Tomlin won the Super Bowl with the Steelers.

Gruden found success early in his career. Keep in mind that before the Super Bowl victory season, Gruden was the head coach for the Raiders for four seasons, including a playoff appearance in 2000 and 2001.

And it was pretty crazy how Gruden managed to get to Tampa in the first place. In what is still known as the biggest deal to acquire a coach in NFL history, Gruden was traded by Al Davis and the Raiders for two first-round draft picks, two second-round picks, and $8 million.

After the Super Bowl loss to the Gruden-led Bucs, Davis told Fox Sports: "Jon beat us in the (expletive) Super Bowl, that's the only thing I regret. But take a look at Jon's performance at Tampa."

Fortunately for Davis and the Raiders, though, under his son Mark Davis' ownership, Gruden returned to the Raiders for the 2018 season.

Gruden was tasked to rebuild the Raiders, after a disappointing 6-10 record the previous season under head coach Jack Del Rio. Although Gruden's first season back resulted in an even worse 4-12 record, he helped redevelop quarterback Derek Carr, who established career single-season highs in completions (381), passing yards (4,049) and competition percentage (68.9). Last season, Carr improved in all three stat lines.

Now with a new home in Las Vegas, this is the time for Gruden to tie the puzzle together. He took a phenomenal first-round pick with wide receiver Henry Ruggs III, picked up much-needed personnel during the free agency in safety Damarious Randall, tight end Jason Witten, among other notable pickups.

As long as his players stay healthy, this season is the year for Gruden to bring the Raiders back to the playoffs.

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