Jon Gruden is no longer the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. On Monday night, Gruden, who won a Super Bowl as the coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, resigned as Raiders head coach following reports of emails he wrote over a 10-year period that included racist, misogynistic and anti-gay language. Raiders owner Mark Davis released a short statement that said he accepted Gruden’s resignation.
Gruden also released a statement that explained why he made the decision. “I have resigned as Head Coach of the Las Vegas Raiders,” Gruden said. “I love the Raiders and do not want to be a distraction. Thank you to all the players, coaches, staff, and fans of Raider Nation. I’m sorry, I never meant to hurt anyone.”
Videos by PopCulture.com
The decision came shortly after The New York Times reported that Gruden used misogynistic and anti-gay language in numerous emails from 2011 to 2018. The report came days after emails from 10 years ago surfaced that included a racist comment about NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith as well as vulgar comments towards NFL commission Roger Goodell. Gruden sent the emails to Washington football Team president Bruce Allen and others during a seven-year period.
“I’m ashamed I insulted DeMaurice Smith. I never had a racial thought when I used it,” Gruden told ESPN. “I’m embarrassed by what’s out there. I certainly never meant for it to sound that bad.” The emails came to light during the NFL’s investigation into the workplace misconduct with Washington as “the league was informed of the existence of emails that raised issues beyond the scope of that investigation,” NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy said. More than 650,000 emails were reviewed.
Gruden, 58, was hired by the Raiders to be the head coach in 2018, signing a 10-year, $100 million contract. This was Gruden’s second stint as the Raiders head coach as he initially coached the team from 1998 to 2001. He was traded to the Buccaneers following the 2001 season and led the team to a Super Bowl win over the Raiders in 2002. In his career, Gruden has posted a 117-112 record in the regular season and a 5-4 record in the postseason. The Raiders announced that Rich Bisaccia will serve as the interim head coach.
