The New Orleans Saints brought in John Gruden to help stabilize their offense being modified to fit freshman quarterback Derek Carr, a source involved in the process confirmed to the athlete. The news was first reported by the Times-Picayune. Here’s what you need to know:
the athleteInstant Analysis:
Why did the Saints bring Gruden?
Once a neighbor, always a neighbor. Gruden visited the Saints this week to help the team shape its offense around Carr, Gruden’s former quarterback and neighbor in Las Vegas.
It makes a lot of sense since Carr has improved in his three years with Gruden, taking more shots down the field and extending play with his legs. The Saints use a different kind of West Coast offense and offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael is akin to former Saints and current Broncos head coach Sean Payton, who previously coached under Gruden when Gruden was coordinator with the Eagles 25 years ago. – bubbling
Will Groden run again?
According to people close to him, Gruden still hopes to coach again after he was forced to quit his job with the Raiders due to abusive emails that surfaced. The NFL is suing, because it was the only personal email leaked from 650,000 people gathered in an investigation into allegations of workplace harassment with Washington leaders.
A local court rejected the university’s request to compel arbitration last October, but the league submitted new documents in March to appeal that decision, because it did not want the emails released. It is unknown if Gruden will eventually accept a settlement or want his day in court. – bubbling
background story
Gruden resigned after the emails — sent over a seven-year period to then-Washington chief Bruce Allen — were revealed during an NFL investigation into workplace misconduct surrounding the Washington leaders. Gruden worked with Allen in Oakland in his first stint with the Raiders and later with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Gruden was in the fourth year of a 10-year, $100 million contract signed in January 2018, his second stint with the Raiders after coaching them from 1998 to 2001. He coached the Buccaneers from 2002 to 2008, and was then hired by ESPN in May 2009. He worked on “Monday Night Football” until the 2017 season.
required reading
(Photo: Kirby Lee/USA Today)
“Alcohol enthusiast. Twitter ninja. Tv lover. Falls down a lot. Hipster-friendly coffee geek.”