The head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, Jon Gruden, announced his resignation on Monday. The news was made soon after the New York Times published a story alleging that Gruden had sent numerous offensive emails while he was an ESPN analyst.
Gruden declared, “I have resigned as Head Coach of the Las Vegas Raiders,” according to a tweet from the team. “I don’t want to be a distraction because I adore the Raiders.” We are grateful to all of the Raider Nation players, coaches, employees, and supporters. I apologize; I didn’t want to offend.
The team’s owner, Mark Davis, announced via Twitter that he has accepted Gruden’s resignation. The Raiders announced that Rich Bisaccia, their special teams coordinator and assistant head coach, will temporarily assume head coaching responsibilities. Throughout Gruden’s second stint with the Raiders, Bisaccia has been a member of the coaching staff, having previously worked with him in Tampa Bay. When Gruden resigned, he was four years into a ten-year contract with the franchise.
The New York Times reports that emails including disparaging remarks against female referees, LGBT NFL players, and players who demonstrated during the singing of the national anthem were discovered by league authorities conducting a workplace misconduct probe, which did not center on Gruden. The Times requested response from Gruden, but he did not provide any.
Gruden faced criticism last week after The Wall Street Journal uncovered an email from 2011 in which he disparaged NFL players union director DeMaurice Smith.Gruden wrote, “Dumboriss Smith has lips the size of Michelin tires,” as reported by the Journal.
Sunday at a press conference following the game, Gruden expressed regret for that remark.
“I’m not a racist,” declared Gruden. “I am too sick to express to you. I feel good about who I am and what I’ve accomplished in my life, but I apologize to D Smith once more. I didn’t want to be racist at all when I made those comments. That’s not at all who I am. I’m sorry. I want to stop talking about it.
In 2018, Gruden took over as head coach of the Raiders for the second time; he finished with a 22-31 record. Before that, from 2002 to 2008, he was the coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, helping them win a Super Bowl under hisinitial campaign, as well as the Oakland Raiders from 1998 to 2001.
Gruden was an NFL analyst and Monday Night Football announcer for ESPN from 2009 to 2017. The Raiders, who are 3-2 on the year, will play their rivals in the AFC West, the Denver Broncos, on Sunday.
