Who will replace former Raiders coach Jon Gruden in Madden 22?
Jon Gruden is now out of the picture in Las Vegas. Not only is the head coach gone in real life, but he is also being removed from the Madden 22 video game.
With EA pressing "delete" on Jon Gruden's avatar, who will take his place? Here's a look at some of their options and which ones they may ultimately settle with.
Who will replace Jon Gruden in Madden 22?
With the firing coming two months after the game's release, many wondered if the developers would even take the time to update the game. However, as video games are never fully completed in this day and age until long after release, EA has made a commitment to correct the Raiders' sideline during games.
However, this change will not be happening overnight and is still a couple of weeks away. The reasoning for this is unclear. The developers are likely going to wrap the Gruden update into another scheduled patch as the developers just released a patch that changed the scouting in franchise mode in recent days.
The new Scouting feature set in #Madden22 is HERE & includes:
📍 Regional Assignment Scouts
📋 Different Types of Scouting
🏈 Mock Drafts
📈 Big Board Movement
🌟 Pro Day Reveals
& more‼️ https://t.co/V7HeyBAqwI
If the developers release too many patches that require updates, they risk angering their player base. By wrapping the Gruden change into an already planned update, they can keep players from getting frustrated with too many downloads.
That said, who will ultimately take Gruden's place in the game?
EA has three options. One option is to put extra time and money into developing a character model for Rich Bisaccia and placing him in the game. Of course, EA is much less likely to go the extra mile for something like this, as the small details could be disproportionately expensive to produce at this time of year.
Another option is to make a generic placeholder coach like the Patriots have. For those who do not play the game, the Patriots do not have head coach Bill Belichick's likeness in the game.
He's currently the only coach not represented in the game. In his place is a generic coach character model, but one who cannot be made by players.
Lastly, the cheapest option is to simply go into the character creator, make a coach, and lock him in with the Raiders. This is the most cost-effective method to get the job done with removing Jon Gruden's likeness from the game.
That is not to say that Madden 23 will not have a new coach with a likeness in the game. This would be a short-term fix and Madden 23 would be a long-term fix. It's not ideal, but EA is at least taking steps to keep the sidelines somewhat accurate for the video game.
That said, many are saying this isn't about maintaining accuracy. This is about erasing any endorsement of Gruden's behavior.
It is also about avoiding contradictions when the game is lined with statements like "end racism" but they have coach Gruden on the sidelines.
It seems that Madden 22 is the only Madden receiving the update. Gruden will remain in the older titles (i.e. Madden 21, Madden 20, etc.) that came out when he coached the Raiders.