Anyone who’s been a football coach for a while has probably been fired at one point. Oakland Raiders coach Jon Gruden sure has, and now he empathizes with his brother.
Jay Gruden was fired by the Washington Redskins on Monday after an 0-5 start to the season. Jon, his older brother, commented on that move in a rather hilarious way.
“I’m obviously very disappointed for my brother,” Gruden said Tuesday, via Paul Gutierrez of ESPN. “It was a long night, last couple of nights. He worked hard. Got a lot of respect for my brother. Obviously, disappointed for him getting fired.
“My dad’s been fired. I’ve been fired. Jay’s been fired and … welcome to the club, bro.”
There’s obviously sympathy here, but Gruden’s bluntness is correct. Even Bill Belichick has been fired before. It happens.
Jay Gruden is clearly on the hot seat, and there has been talk that the head coach could lose his job as early as next week if Washington falters against the New York Giants on Sunday. If Gruden does lose his job, could his next stop be working with his brother?
It would be a surprise if Gruden is back coaching the Redskins in 2020, and Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports that there has been “chatter” around the NFL that Gruden will eventually take a job on his brother Jon’s staff with the Raiders. Jon Gruden is in only the second year of his 10-year deal, with the team moving to Las Vegas next season.
Jay Gruden spent three years as the offensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals before being named the head coach in Washington. If he’s unable to land another head coaching job right away, he might be a logical fit with the Raiders. Jon Gruden’s team is still struggling to find an offensive identity and could move on from Derek Carr, so perhaps Jay would be interested in helping his brother find another quarterback and try to get things turned around.
For what it’s worth, Ian Rapoport of NFL Media said Sunday that Gruden’s job does not hinge on what happens against the Giants. He may not make it through the season, but it does not sound like Washington is planning to fire him ahead of Week 5.
Gruden has faced some questions about the way he is handling his quarterback situation, and that talk will become louder if the Redskins don’t start winning games. It seems like only a matter of time before the team parts ways with him.
Jon Gruden led the Oakland Raiders to an emotional win over the Denver Broncos on Monday night, and the head coach couldn’t help but celebrate with the team’s fans immediately after the victory.
On the heels of an offseason filled with seemingly nonstop drama, the Raiders got out to a quick start and held on to defeat the division rival Broncos, 24-16. With the team moving to Las Vegas next year, the game was the last “Monday Night Football” broadcast that will be held in Oakland. Gruden decided to enjoy it with the superfans sitting in “The Black Hole.”
Awesome moment as Gruden ran to the stands to personally celebrate with Oakland fans. pic.twitter.com/hR5DY50sH8
Gruden has a lot to prove to Raiders fans this season. He began his second tenure with the team by trading Khalil Mack last offseason, and he sent Amari Cooper packing later in the year as well. Oakland then made a huge splash by acquiring Antonio Brown in a trade, but we all know how that worked out.
If Gruden can get the most out of Derek Carr this season and keep the Raiders in contention in the AFC West, he would be giving the fans in Oakland a nice send-off. Monday night was a great start.
Antonio Brown posted an audio clip on social media last week from a private conversation he had with Jon Gruden, but apparently he did so after seeking permission from the Oakland Raiders coach.
Alejandro Narciso, the man who produced the video clip Brown posted on YouTube that featured some of the receiver’s phone conversation with Gruden, told “The Dan Le Batard Show” on Monday that Brown reached out to Gruden before making it public. Narciso said he expected Gruden to nix the idea, but the coach responded shortly after with a series of text messages saying he loved the idea.
Antonio Brown's video producer said Jon Gruden approved of the use of their phone conversation in Brown's Youtube video before it was released.
They sent him the video and 15 minutes later Gruden responded with "I love it! Loved it! I love it!" pic.twitter.com/wrqer5ujvZ
So there you have it. There was some talk that Brown could potentially be in legal and/or NFL trouble over the audio recording since it is illegal to record a private conversation without consent in the state of California, but that’s not going to happen if Gruden gave permission and was all for it.
Antonio Brown is ready to move on from the Oakland Raiders now that he has agreed to a deal with the New England Patriots, but he may have some legal issues to sort through from his brief time in the Bay Area.
One of the last things Brown did before he was released by the Raiders last week was share a YouTube video that featured audio of a (presumably) private phone conversation he had with Oakland head coach Jon Gruden. While Gruden said he was amused by the video and thought it was “awesome,” TMZ noted on Monday that recording a phone conversation without a person’s consent is illegal in the state of California and carries a maximum sentence of a year in jail.
What does that mean? Possibly nothing. There’s virtually no chance Brown would spend time in jail over the audio recording even if Gruden reported it to the authorities, but he did commit a misdemeanor crime if the conversation was recorded in California and Gruden was unaware.
The audio featured Gruden telling Brown he is not a villain and that he is simply misunderstood, with Brown saying he wants to be a Raider but is “more than just a football player.” It was more self-serving for the star receiver than anything, and nothing in it made Gruden look bad. For that reason, it would be a surprise if the coach pursued charges against Brown, unless he is beyond irate about the way Brown embarrassed the Raiders over the past several weeks.
Of course, the NFL could also investigate to see whether Brown violated the league’s personal conduct policy even if the authorities don’t get involved. Again, that seems unlikely.
If sharing the conversation he had with Gruden was one of the pieces of advice Brown got from the social media experts he consulted, he may want to have a word with them. Forcing his way out of Oakland is one thing, but he probably wasn’t aware that he may have broken the law.
Oakland Raiders coach Jon Gruden is sticking to the script after Antonio Brown signed with the New England Patriots.
Brown landed with the Patriots mere hours after the Raiders granted him his release. Gruden, reached for comment by Jerry McDonald of Bay Area News Group, was to simply wish his former wide receiver the best.
Jon Gruden's reaction to Antonio Brown signing with Patriots, via text: `I wish him the best.' #Raiders
There’s no way Gruden is happy about this. They wanted to make it work, they tried to accommodate him, and Brown forced his release and landed in New England so fast that some are suspicious that either Brown or the Patriots acted inappropriately. The fact that Brown is so thrilled probably isn’t going to make Gruden and the Raiders happy either. They have nothing to gain from going scorched earth, however, at least on the record.
More than anyone else in the Oakland Raider organization, coach Jon Gruden badly wanted to make things work with Antonio Brown. On Saturday, though, even he could see that there was nothing left to do to make things work.
Gruden admitted Saturday that the Raiders had “exhausted everything” trying to make things work with Brown, and ultimately wished him well.
#Raiders coach Jon Gruden live on @nflnetwork: Says "we have exhausted everything. We tried every way possible to make it work." Says he's disappointed but wishes Antonio Brown nothing but the best.
Gruden stood by Brown even after the wide receiver’s verbal confrontation with GM Mike Mayock. That alone demonstrates just how determined Gruden was to make the relationship work. Ultimately, not even he could hold it together, and his big offseason gamble ultimately turned out to be a failure.
Antonio Brown posted a video on YouTube Friday night that contained audio from a phone conversation he had with Oakland Raiders head coach Jon Gruden.
Brown posted the video to his YouTube account and a brief clip on Instagram. Brown’s video summary suggested his goal was to control his own narrative.
“With all these false narratives antagonizing me, it’s time for me to control my own narrative. Show the world I’m not the bad guy. Show the world you can free yourself from the lies and become your own person. I am not just AB the football player, I am Antonio Brown, the person, who paved a way for himself to be in charge of his own life. Free me!” Brown wrote.
The video contains audio from Gruden telling Brown he is “not a villain” and just “misunderstood.”
“You’re not a villain. You’re just the most misunderstood f—ing human being in my entire life that I’ve ever met,” Gruden is heard telling Brown. “I brought you here because you’re my favorite guy. I’ve never seen anyone work harder. I don’t know where you are in your life off the field. All I know is you’ve got a lot of things going. There’s a lot of people that have an opinion about you. Whether it be good or bad, you’re in the spotlight all the time.
“Let me ask you this: do you want to be a Raider or not?
“Please stop this s— and just play football. How hard is that? You’re a great football player, just play football.”
Brown is heard saying he is “more than just a football player.”
Here is the video. Beware it contains curse words:
According to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, Gruden was said to be amused by the video and found it to be “awesome.”
More on @AB84 You Tube video: Raiders source says Gruden was truly amused by it and even thought it was "awesome." That's all. Next.
Jon Gruden is a big fan of Le’Veon Bell and his pass-blocking abilities.
During the final episode of “Hard Knocks” featuring the Oakland Raiders, Gruden was visiting with his running backs and trying to show them about ideal blitz pickup. He showed clips of two players: Bell and Danny Woodhead.
Tonight on the season finale of Hard Knocks, Jon Gruden talks about a former Pittsburgh Steelers offensive superstar and assesses his game. It’s not Antonio Brown…. pic.twitter.com/aOSzVBkYC1
Bell sat out all of last season because of a refusal to play under the franchise tag from the Pittsburgh Steelers. He signed with the New York Jets in the offseason and is looking forward to a return to competition. Gruden sure is a fan of the running back.
Jon Gruden has been the breakout star of this season of “Hard Knocks” on HBO. The Oakland Raiders head coach has been delivering comical one-liners, tons of energy, and plenty of enthusiasm throughout the program. But the one thing that has stood out most of all has been his catchphrase, “Knock on wood if you’re with me.”
After speaking to his team and making a point, Gruden will often say “knock on wood if you’re with me,” which leads his players to give a response. It seems to be his way of keeping his team engaged while he speaks.
