Raiders news: Jon Gruden to join Derek Carr at New Orleans Saints training camp
By Brad Weiss
Back in January 2018, the Raiders franchise announced that Jon Gruden would return to the team as their head coach. Raiders fans had been clamoring for the team to bring back Gruden for years prior to his return, and Gruden being back on the sidelines was supposed to bring glory back to the Silver and Black.
Instead, the return of Gruden brought more bad than good, as the team had significant issues on and off the field. He traded away star players, absolutely fumbled the NFL Draft, and in the end, met his demise when some emails came to light in which Gruden used racist, misogynistic, and homophobic slurs.
Gruden's firing led to Rich Bisaccia taking over on an interim basis, and all Bisaccia did was lead the Raiders to their first playoff appearance in five years. For Gruden, the firing not only ended his tenure with the Raiders, but it also caused the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to remove him from their Ring of Honor.
It was a black eye for the organization, but Gruden has seemingly landed on his feet, and will join his former quarterback in the Bayou.
Jon Gruden to join former Raiders QB Derek Carr in New Orleans
This offseason, Gruden was asked by Dennis Allen to join him in New Orleans, serving in a advisory role to help along new quarterback, Derek Carr. Gruden and Carr's relationship with the Raiders was a solid one, as Gruden continued to back his quarterback in the midst of many trade rumors.
Though there was no full-time position offered this offseason, it appears Allen wants to keep the relationship going, and Gruden will now join Carr and the Saints at training camp per Jeff Duncan of New Orleans Times-Picayune. Gruden will once again be in an advisory role as the team hopes to get the best out of Carr in Year 1 in the Bayou.
The Saints play in a very winnable division in the NFC South, though it will be interesting to see how Carr does in his first campaign not wearing Silver and Black.