Mike Florio lays out situation with Jon Gruden’s lawsuit amid Saints gig - “He remains radioactive”
Jon Gruden is fighting the NFL in a lawsuit for leaking emails that led to his resignation as the Las Vegas Raiders head coach back in October 2021. The Super Bowl-winning head coach found himself kind of coaching recently with Derek Carr, who joined the Saints this offseason.
Carr was Gruden's quarterback for over seven seasons with the Raiders. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk noted that helping his former quarterback doesn't help in becoming a head coach again. He added that both he and league were wrong when it came to the emails:
"Gruden remains radioactive, both for NFL and college jobs. Of course, the problem traces not to the alleged misconduct of the NFL but the emails he sent.
"Someone, however, weaponized those emails with the apparent goal of taking Gruden out. Gruden was wrong, but whoever used those emails against him was wrong, too."
The emails in question were uncovered by the Wall Street Journal three days before his resignation as the Las Vegas Raiders head coach. It contained racist, anti-gay and misogynistic language. His lawsuit claimed "tortious interference" by the league and commissioner Roger Goodell.
Gruden asserts that they selectively leaked his emails to push him out as head coach. The lawsuit contends that the NFL had the emails since June 2021. The emails came up in an investigation into workplace conditions with the Washington Commanders as Gruden was communicating with then-Washington executive Bruce Allen.
This NYT piece on Jon Gruden is wild.
And not to make it all about the Washington Football Team, but just take a moment to reflect on what it says about the culture under Bruce Allen that someone like Jon Gruden was comfortable using this language over email with him. https://t.co/XQWzhDifOs
Jon Gruden will have to triumph in his attempt to keep the lawsuit from being sent to arbitration. Currently, that matter is pending in front of the Nevada Supreme Court. The NFL is trying to shield themselves with the commissioner’s authority to handle issues concerning conduct detrimental to the league.
Will Jon Gruden ever coach again in the NFL?
This question is heavily dependent upon the outcome of the lawsuit as Florio states that Gruden's behavior and the league's behavior are the greater concern:
"Regardless of whether Gruden does or doesn’t get another job, the question at trial will be whether a jury can compartmentalize Gruden’s behavior and the league’s behavior. Or the behavior of whoever it was who leaked the emails with the apparent goal of derailing his career."
Jon Gruden started his head coaching career when the Raiders were back in Oakland before being traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ahead of the 2002 season. After seven seasons in Tampa Bay, he took his talents to ESPN for a decade before returning back to Las Vegas in 2018.
We'll see if he gets another shot at coaching following the conclusion of his lawsuit against the league.
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