When the Oakland Raiders gave head coach Jon Gruden the keys to the Corvette out in California, they did it in grand style. Gruden signed a massive 10-year, $100-million contract prior to the 2019 season, and the plan was for him to lead the rebuild of the franchise from the ground up before it moves to its new home in Las Vegas.
Well, the Raiders traded their best player, then traded their second-best player, and watched their first season under Gruden spiral out of control until they crash landed with a 4-12 record. Some people on the West Coast are tired of Gruden already, and somebody started a hilarious countdown to the end of Gruden's coaching tenure via the website IsGrudenGoneYet.com.
The hilarious counter ticks continuously, and anyone who visits the website can see exactly how much money the 55-year-old head coach is making for the entire duration of their visit.
As of Wednesday, February 27, 2019 at 4:44 p.m. on the East Coast, Gruden is still owed over $88 million dollars with the clock continuing to tick away.
RELATED: Did Oakland Violate NFL Rules by Hiring Jon Gruden?
Oakland Raiders fans have more than a few reasons to be upset with Gruden's start to the his tenure, and while this might seem like a bit much, there's no reason why Raiders fans should feel good about Gruden's $100 million start.
Gruden, notoriously hailed as a quarterback guru from his former television days hosting Jon Gruden's QB Camp, has never really had success with a quarterback of his own. Raiders quarterback Derek Carr finished fifth in the NFL completing 68.9 percent of his passes in year one under Gruden, but he sacked 51 times, third-most in the NFL.
The big problem in Oakland is a defense that allowed the most points per game (29.2) this past season and ranked near the bottom of the NFL in yards allowed and were dead-last in yards per play allowed.
The big issue is a lack of talent, one that Oakland's owner Mark Davis will leave in the hands of Gruden come the offseason with free agency and the NFL Draft.
Gruden's first tenure in as Oakland's head coach yielded four seasons of a 38-26 record and two AFC West titles before they moved on from him, and Gruden's Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat them in Super Bowl XXXVII the very next season, although many give credit for that win to Tampa Bay's previous head coach and architect, Tony Dungy.
The Raiders had almost nothing positive to take away from year one under Gruden, and they're going to need to land a few free agents and hit on every single draft pick if they want to really make an impact in year two.
While Gruden tries to figure out the long list of problems, his clock is ticking.
Editor's Note: First published on October 16, 2018
