Jon Gruden resigns: 5 Replacements Raiders can hire in 2022

Jon Gruden has resigned as the Raiders head coach after racist and homophobic messages he sent while working at ESPN surfaced. Who can replace him in Las Vegas?

The Las Vegas Raiders are without a head coach as Jon Gruden, who the team gave a 10-year, $100 million contract in 2018, has resigned. His resignation comes after emails from years past surfaced that included troubling racist, homophobic and misogynistic comments. As more messages began to surface, his decision to resign came swiftly.

Rumors have circulated that special teams coach Rich Bissasica will take over for the remainder of the 2021 season remains to be seen. However, they will certainly be looking to hire a new head coach in the 2022 cycle that will hopefully last for a long time.

So, who are the best candidates to replace Jon Gruden as Las Vegas Raiders head coach? We have five candidates that would make a ton of sense.

5. Joe Brady

Current Role: Panthers Offensive Coordinator

Formerly known as the LSU wunderkind, Joe Brady is now in the NFL ranks as the offensive coordinator for Matt Rhule in Carolina. But after the season he put together with Teddy Bridgewater in 2020, interviewing for head coaching jobs last offseason, and now seemingly rejuvenating Sam Darnold (at least to some degree), he should get much more serious looks for the 2022 head coach carousel.

Brady has been an offensive mastermind everywhere he’s worked to this point, maximizing the talents of his players and, specifically, drastically improving passing games. Offense hasn’t been a huge issue for the Raiders but having someone like Brady come in who can guide Derek Carr into the next chapter and mold weapons like Henry Ruggs III and others would be highly advantageous for Las Vegas.