Raiders make it official: Jon Gruden will be named new coach next week
About an hour after Jon Gruden worked his final game as the color commentator for ESPN's "Monday Night Football," the Raiders announced what everyone already knew: Gruden would be Oakland's next head coach, replacing Jack Del Rio, who went 25-23 in two seasons, including a playoff appearance in 2016.
It all becomes official at a Tuesday press conference, the Raiders said in a statement released Saturday night, shortly after Gruden and boothmate Sean McDonough called the Titans' win over the Chiefs.
McDonough welcomed viewers to the Wild-Card matchup by wishing Gruden all the best:
"I'm Sean McDonough along with the coach, Jon Gruden. Delighted to have you with us on this very exciting day for football fans everywhere. It's an emotional and bittersweet day for our 'Monday Night Football' family as today as we say goodbye to coach Gruden after nine very distinguished years.
"Coach ... great legacy on 'Monday Night Football,' not only have you lived up to it, you've enhanced it with your performance here," McDonough continued. "But I know you're looking forward to getting back to coaching. We congratulate you as you head back to the sidelines with the Raiders."
Gruden thanked McDonough for his kind words but still wouldn't commit to his new gig, adding, "Nothing's official yet."
It is now.
According to reports, Gruden has been assembling his staff for at least a week and the expectation is that Rams quarterbacks coach Greg Olson will serve as offensive coordinator, and Bengals defensive coordinator Paul Guenther will reprise that role in Oakland.
When Gruden is introduced on Tuesday, he'll return to Oakland with a 10-year deal worth a reported $100 million, and a 95-81 career record that spans 11 seasons. He was 38-26 with the Raiders and 57-55 with the Buccaneers, where he won a Super Bowl following the 2002 season. He'll also have something he never did in Tampa Bay: A franchise quarterback. Derek Carr is coming off a disappointing season but he was a legit MVP candidate in 2016. In seven seasons in Tampa, Gruden had a .509 winning percentage with Brad Johnson, Brian Griese, Chris Simms, Jeff Garcia, Luke McCown and Bruce Gradkowski under center.
This article originally appeared on CBSSports.com with the headline "Raiders make it official: Jon Gruden will be named new coach on Tuesday"
