“That was one of the best hit jobs I’ve ever been around” - Raiders radio personality comments of Jon Gruden's firing
The leaked emails from former Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden are still a publicized story. Gruden's resignation came amidst the best season he's had during his second stint with the Raiders before being forced to resign after Week 5.
While fans and media agree Gruden's behavior has no place in the NFL, he still has people with whom he has formed good connections.
One of those people is longtime Raiders radio announcer Brent Musburger. Musburger has been a voice in the NFL since 1973 and has worked with the Raiders since 2018. He believes Gruden's leaked emails were a hit job, and he elaborated on his take on a podcast Thursday.
.@brentmusburger: “Jon Gruden’s career was ended by a paid assassin”🚨
Brent joins @JTTheBrick and @LooneyonFox on their latest podcast presented by @betonline_ag ⬇️
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bre… https://t.co/PfC4G37xZp
Raiders radio announcer claims Jon Gruden was taken down by a hitman.
Musburger appeared on the JT and Looney podcast to speak in-depth about Gruden's firing. The 83-year-old told the podcast:
"First of all, as I told coach. Whoever took you out, Jon, that was a paid assassin. Okay? That was one of the best hit jobs that I've ever been around. They didn't go to their media goombas. They didn't leak this to Adam Schefter or one of those guys who breaks stories. They first went to the Wall Street Journal. And when Gruden was still coaching after that, then they dumped the rest of it on the New York Times. That was a professional hit job. But I want to tell everybody I'm not sure if it was someone in the NFL, there was a second lawsuit involved. Between the owner, Snyder of Washington, and a former general manager. And that means a lot of outside people had access to those emails."
Musburger's claim has caused a lot of controversies. His comments have come across to some as outdated and old-fashioned.
Gruden sent the emails between 2011 and 2018 when he spent most of his time as an announcer for ESPN. Regardless of who leaked them, Gruden is being held accountable by not being a part of the league anymore.
It’s amazing how Jon Gruden sent racist and homophobic emails but the person who leaked them the bad guy 😂😂😂 twitter.com/ClutchPointsNF…
Although Musburger's claim is hard to believe, it is an ongoing question of who leaked Gruden's emails. There's also an ongoing question as to why the NFL was silent on the matter before the leak. They found out about the emails no later than June of 2021 but didn't take action.
It's also puzzling how Gruden coached the next game after these leaks came out.
Musburger's comment on the involvement of the Washington Football Team is the most conscious part of his quote. Gruden sent the emails to Dan Snyder, who owns Washington, and Snyder reciprocated them.
Punishment for Snyder has yet to happen, and everyone is still waiting for the other shoe to drop. The NFL has also declined to release information on its investigation into Washington's workplace conduct and behavior.
As much as the Raiders would like this story to fade away, it's too prominent and national of a story to do such. The team has done its best to move on. But until all the answers come out publicly, this story will keep being revised.