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Former Raiders head coach Jon Gruden has earned a major victory in his lawsuit against the NFL
The Las Vegas Raiders are once again starting from scratch when it comes to their head coach, as they have hired former Seattle Seahawks‘ offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak to come in and take over their team. Of course, Raiders fans will remember that, for a point in time, it seemed like they had found their long-term head coach in Jon Gruden, only for him to resign in 2021.
An email controversy that implicated Gruden resulted in him essentially being forced out of his job with Las Vegas, and since then, the team has struggled to find a proper replacement for him. Gruden has since filed a lawsuit against the NFL for the handling of this situation, and he earned a major win in his case on Saturday that could spell bad news for the league.
Jon Gruden’s Case Against the NFL Set to Be Heard in Nevada
After coaching the Raiders from 1998 to 2001, Gruden returned in 2018 and quickly began to work on changing the fortunes of the franchise. Just when it seemed like things were coming together for him, a slew of emails sent by Gruden to then Washington Commanders general manager Bruce Allen containing racist, misogynistic, and homophobic slurs came to light in 2021, prompting Gruden to resign from his post with the team.
While there’s no doubt that the language Gruden used is wrong, he was not happy to be the guy falling on his sword for an investigation he wasn’t even initially a part of. Gruden ended up filing a lawsuit against the NFL in response to this email leak, claiming that the league pinned him as the fall guy in this investigation, destroying his coaching career in the process.
Despite the NFL’s best efforts to either get this case thrown out entirely or have it be processed through the league’s own arbitration system, that does not appear set to happen. After Gruden previously won the right to keep his case in court, reports have indicated that the league did not appeal that decision, meaning Gruden will have an opportunity to expose the NFL for its handling of this situation.
“Gruden, through a last-ditch effort to sway the Nevada Supreme Court to see things his way, won the right to keep his case in court,” Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reported. “And the NFL did not attempt to appeal the final ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court. As to Gruden’s case, that ends the issue. The case will play out in Nevada. Which will include, absent a dismissal or settlement, a trial in open court.”
Could Jon Gruden Eventually Return to Coaching in the NFL?
GettyFormer Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden.
Gruden won’t ever get to really wipe his hands clean of this situation, but it’s clear that the NFL’s handling of the entire investigation was a bit shady. The timing of the email leak is the main point of contention, as the league had access to Gruden’s inappropriate emails before the 2021 season even got started. Instead, they came to light during the campaign.
Whether or not Gruden will ever return to coaching is unknown. He did consulting work for the New Orleans Saints in 2023 and has been seen watching the practices of several teams over the past few years. The Raiders, however, have moved on, as they are hoping to find some success moving forward with Kubiak taking things over for the time being.
Owen Crisafulli Owen Crisafulli is a Breaking News Writer at Heavy. In addition to writing for Heavy, Owen works as a Content Producer for More Views Media. His work has also appeared on ClutchPoints, The Sporting News, Athlon Sports, Basketball Network, and FanSided, where he shared his insights on a variety of sports topics primarily surrounding the NFL, NBA, and MLB. More about Owen Crisafulli
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