At 1-6, the Oakland Raiders are one of the worst teams in the NFL. Jon Gruden’s first year on the job has not gone according to plan. David Carr has looked bad, and the team has had some ugly losses to teams like the Broncos and Dolphins.
Gruden has taken criticism for the controversial Khalil Mack trade and for results on the field, but he still seems pretty high on the Raiders’ future. He gave an interview to Fox Sports (which will air before Oakland plays San Francisco on Thursday Night Football) in which he claims that players are “dying” to play for the Raiders.
“I got a cellphone just like you and everybody else. I get a lot of phone calls from people that are dying to come play here. I'm just telling you. They're dying to play for the Raiders,” said Gruden. “And to have salary-cap space and to have a chance to talk to the people that you really want to wear the silver and black, the guys you really want to wear the silver and black and represent this team, that's exciting.”
One thing that is definitely true about that statement is the part about cap space. The Raiders are set to have about $68 million of room to work this coming offseason. But are players really dying to play for a team that is 1-6 and will be moving to Las Vegas in either 2019 or 2020? That part is up for debate.
Gruden illustrated his old-fashioned style of coaching when he spoke before the season about how he wanted to "throw the game back to 1998". He infamously dealt Khalil Mack on September 1 after the linebacker held out of training camp and the preseason. The highlights of the package the Raiders received were two first round picks, but Gruden still takes flack for the deal on a weekly basis as Mack stars in Chicago. The 55-year-old took a tough job that has been made harder by a rough start.
MORE: Terrell Owens Thinks The Giants Need To Replace Eli Manning
The Raiders go for their second win of the season on Thursday night against the 49ers.