To the shock of many Las Vegas Raiders fans, former head coach Jon Gruden was recently seen at Kansas City Chiefs training camp. Considering Gruden has a longstanding relationship with Andy Reid, it's not super surprising he was there. However, what wasn't a great look was the fact that he was wearing Chiefs gear.
It's not a requirement for a team visitor to have to wear the gear of said team but Gruden did it anyway. To think that some fans wanted the Raiders to bring him back.
Reid and Gruden spent several years as rivals while they both coached AFC West teams but their friendship goes back decades to when they were both offensive assistants for the Green Bay Packers. Reid might have the best offensive mind in the NFL, but even he likes to bring in outside voices.
He recently explained why he invited Gruden to come along to camp.
“He loves football and he and I go way back — 30 years so we’ve known each other a long time,” Reid said during a recent press conference. “So, it’s good to get him up here. He’s always got good input on things. [He’s] very smart, very good football — great football coach, so [I] enjoy having him around [and he has] great energy.”
I'd take umbrage with the idea that Gruden is a great football coach but I digress. At the end of the day, Gruden isn't the Raiders' head coach anymore so he can do whatever he wants. I mean, if Reid left the Chiefs, I'd be screaming from the rooftops for the Raiders to hire him so I guess it's OK that Gruden was at Chiefs practice.
At some point, Gruden might be wanting another NFL job so it's smart for him to remind people he's still around, especially since his lawsuit against the NFL is going the way he'd like it to.