Las Vegas Raiders: The Rise and Fall of former head coach Jon Gruden
By Alex Perl
Las Vegas Raiders: The Rise and Fall of former head coach Jon Gruden
Raiders arrive in Las Vegas
Year 3 was the season in which Raider Nation was growing a bit angsty, as the team had a new home in Las Vegas, after years of back and forth negotiations for a new stadium in Oakland that never materialized. This was expected to be the year Gruden truly would have the roster he had built, and the system truly in place in which he had anticipated.
After a strong showing to the start of the season, the team had a second-half collapse, and after a few chances at a playoff appearance, finally ended in a .500 season at 8-8.
The Gruden express was running a bit cold on the tracks heading into the fourth season, the draft choices over the years under Gruden ended up being a mixed bag, and the one top-five pick the Raiders had was a blown one on defensive end Clelin Ferrell, a pick that famously puzzled not only Raider Nation, but the entire world.
However, the world was put on its heels as the Raiders rolled out to a 3-0 start, their first since 2002, which was also the same season Gruden had trounced the Raiders in the Super Bowl. It seemed not only Raider Nation, but the universe was warming up to Gruden and his coaching style again.