2020 NFL Power Rankings: Patriots moving up as training camp nears
By Randy Gurzi
. Previous: 22nd. Las Vegas Raiders. 24. team. 28.
Las Vegas moves from No. 22 to 24
Jon Gruden rejoined the Oakland Raiders in 2018 which was his second stint with the team. The Super Bowl-winning coach started his career with the Raiders back in 1998 at the age of 35. He led them to back-to-back double-digit winning seasons in 2000 and 2001 before being famously traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — where he won the Super Bowl against Oakland in his first season.
During that first stint in Oakland, Gruden never had a losing season — going 8-8 in each of his first two campaigns. Now, things have changed as they are 11-21 over the past two seasons but their 7-9 mark in 2019 was an improvement from the prior year.
Now Gruden and his team are moving to Sin City to become the Las Vegas Raiders, the first professional football team in the state of Nevada. For him and this team, this is going to be a crucial year.
They’ve continued to add talent, including wide receiver Henry Ruggs III in the draft, but they have to start to get some wins. If not, Gruden could start to find himself on the hot seat — but so could Derek Carr.
The former second-round pick has been up and down for the Raiders and now has some pressure on him with Marcus Mariota in town as the No. 2 quarterback. Mariota has had his share of success in the NFL and while he hasn’t been consistent, he does have three seasons here he finished with more wins than losses as a starter — whereas Carr has one. This is going to be a big year for Las Vegas as they look to find their identity going forward in a new city.