Early in Jon Gruden’s tenure with the Las Vegas Raiders, there were rumors that he was looking to move away from Derek Carr as the team’s quarterback. However, as time progressed, the two developed a rapport that made Gruden buy into Carr as the franchise QB.
This is why it came as a shock to Carr when Gruden promptly resigned as head coach of the Raiders following an email scandal spanning nearly a decade. It was absolutely the only move, but it left Carr in a vulnerable position after growing his on-field relationship with Gruden over the past few seasons.
The Raiders QB responded to the entire situation and his thoughts on Gruden following the scandal. “Don’t get me wrong, I love the man, and you hate the sin. Like for anybody, no one is perfect,” Carr said. “If we just started opening up everybody’s emails and texts, people will start sweating a little bit.. but maybe that’s what they should do for all coaches and GM’s and owners from now on.”
Carr continued, shifting his focus back to Gruden. “But you hate the action, you hate it. You’re not supposed to like it, but you love the person. I’ve grown to love him so much. We’ve been through so many battles. He’s always had my back. He’s always been there for me… and I think that’s why it’s hard, because he’s not around.”
“But long story short, you hate it, you feel for everyone involved, but I will always be someone no matter who does what I’m going to love you. And if that’s wrong then I’m okay being wrong.”
Carr went into much greater detail on this stance, but it’s undoubtedly a noble one, even if it is unpopular. What Gruden did is likely seen as unforgivable in the minds of many, including those who had personal relationships with him.
However, Carr will now have to move forward without Gruden at the helm, something that is clearly going to be difficult for him. We’ll see how it affects him on the field on Sunday, when the Raiders face the Denver Broncos.
Raiders announce Rich Bissacia as interim head coach
Quickly following Gruden’s resignation, the Raiders went to assistant coach and special teams coordinator Rich Bissacia to lead the way for the rest of the season.