Jon Gruden was mic’d up during Oakland’s Week 16 beatdown of the Denver Broncos, and Wednesday the NFL published a little five-minute cut of his choicest moments, and I am here to tell you it is extremely compelling stuff. I would watch a weekly television show of nothing but clips of Gruden screaming at referees and telling opposing receivers to “shut the fuck up,” as head coach of this wacky Raiders squad.
Years away from coaching appear to have robbed Gruden of whatever combination of traits once made him a successful NFL head coach, which is especially a problem because he is also remarkably incompetent as a personnel honcho, a role he’s taken on under the unwise organizational stewardship of Raiders owner Mark Davis. But, man, Gruden still has the goods when it comes to shouting “Jiminy Christmas!” and “Ah for crying out loud!” and “Jeff!” on an NFL sideline. Nine more years of this, my friends.