The Oakland Raiders are coming off another disappointing finish under the tutelage of head coach Jon Gruden. The Raiders were seemingly prepared for a potential resurgence following promising start to the 2019 NFL season, however, their playoff hopes were crushed after the team fell apart down the stretch en route to a 7-9 finish.
At one point, it appeared as though Oakland was ready to give the Kansas City Chiefs a run for their money in the AFC West. While they may have failed to do that, their efforts did not go unnoticed by head coach Andy Reid.
Reid praised both Gruden and general manager Mike Mayock for the job they have done in the rebuild thus far, via ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez:
“I think they’re doing a great job with the Raiders,” said Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid about coach Jon Gruden and first-year GM Mike Mayock. “They’re building that thing back. That’s great for the National Football League. It’s also great for the AFC West, with the competition.”
This is certainly some heavy praise from Reid. Although they may be rivals competing in the same division, it is clear there is still a sense of mutual respect between them.
Gruden has ushered in some significant changes to the roster since his arrival and kicked things up a notch once Mayock was brought in to run the front office prior to the 2019 campaign. Their biggest task was making the most out of the three first-round picks the Raiders had acquired by trading defensive end Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper the year before.
It is safe to say that they managed to get plenty of return on their investment with players like running back Josh Jacobs and defensive end Clelin Ferrell. Meanwhile, safety Johnathan Abram had shown plenty of promise before his rookie season was ended prematurely due to injury.
Part of the reason for the disappointment in Oakland was that they were unable to build on their promising start to the year. Just when fans though it was safe to have high expectations, the team wound up losing five of their last six while their woes were magnified by the fact that they remained in the playoff hunt up until the season finale.
Regardless, the Raiders did more than enough to put Reid on notice moving forward while the Chiefs look to make a run at the Super Bowl. His praise indicates that he will not be taking them lightly in the years to come.
