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Oakland Raiders: Jon Gruden is out of his mind

By Joel W. Cade

LOS ANGELES, CA - AUGUST 18: Head coach Jon Gruden of the Oakland Raiders coaches from the sideline during the first half of a preseason game against the Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on August 18, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - AUGUST 18: Head coach Jon Gruden of the Oakland Raiders coaches from the sideline during the first half of a preseason game against the Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on August 18, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /
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Oakland Raiders new head coach Jon Gruden (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Oakland Raiders new head coach Jon Gruden (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) /

Gruden consolidates power

The parallels between Jon Gruden and Mike Holmgren are eye opening. In 1998, Mike Holmgren signed an eight year contract with the Seattle Seahawks to be their head coach and Executive Vice President/General Manager. The long-term contract combined with absolute power over personnel gave Holmgren what he thought was the perfect scenario for building a Super Bowl champion.

Gruden also signed a long term contract with powers over all personnel decisions. Per Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report, it has not taken long for Gruden to consolidate his power as head coach, general manager and CEO. Here is the entire quote:

"Since joining the Raiders in January, Gruden has quietly consolidated power to the point where he’s effectively the head coach, general manager, CEO and just about everything else. No other coach in the NFL has this kind of power outside of Belichick."

The power he negotiated into his contract has allowed him to effectively take over the Raiders organization. This must seem like a dream scenario to Gruden where he has absolute power to build a Super Bowl winning organization.

Holmgren’s record in his first four seasons in Seattle was 28-33. After four years of questionable personnel decisions and a sub .500 record, Holmgren effectively fired himself as the general manager of the Seahawks. In Holmgren’s post-general manager time in Seattle, he won four consecutive division titles and appeared in the Super Bowl in 2005.

Holmgren was able to recognize that having absolute power over personnel decisions was not the best situation for a head coach. He had enough self-awareness to step down so he could focus on coaching the team. Once that happened, he coached the team very well. His record in Seattle post general manager duties was a combined 55-41.

Teams learned a lot from the Holmgren experiment. After his firing as general manager, teams were less willing to give the dual title to coaches. There was a recognition that a healthy debate between general manager and head coach is good for an organization.

But apparently the Raiders didn’t get that memo. They hired Gruden and gave him the 1998 dream scenario. But as Holmgren found out, this dream scenario may ultimately be the curse of Chucky.

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