Not long after the death of Oakland Raiders owner and legend Al Davis, people began speculating on who would take over the helm of one of the most storied franchises in the NFL. Within a day or two, it was revealed that Davis' son, Mark Davis, would remain owner of the team and play a role in the business aspects of the franchise while staying away from the day to day football operations. That meant that the Raiders would likely be looking for a general manager to take care of the day to day football operations.
Not shockingly, a laundry list of former Raiders began being mentioned as potential general manager candidates for the Oakland Raiders. One of the most unlikely, but also most intriguing names to be thrown out by talking heads in the sports world was former Raiders coach Jon Gruden.
Though Gruden did not leave Oakland on the best terms, he has since been noted as saying that looking back on his experience with Davis was a lot like looking back on one's childhood experiences with their parents. Often times, you do not agree with or understand the decisions your parents make, but as you grow up, you come to understand and agree with those decisions.
Thus, while Gruden has come to greatly appreciate Al Davis and his level of intellegince about the game of football, it does not appear as though he will be returning to the Silver and Black in a front office position. Monday, it was announced that Gruden had reached a five year deal to remain in the Monday Night Football broadcast booth for ESPN. That is not surprising considering how much Gruden appears to enjoy his work with ESPN.
For many Raiders fans, it was fun to dream for a week about the prospect of Chucky coming back to the Raiders, but just as I thought, it was nothing more than a dream.