Raiders refute rumors of Jon Gruden's return

There were rumors that the Oakland Raiders might be targeting an old friend of theirs to replace Dennis Allen as head coach. Numerous reports seemed to indicate that Jon Gruden might be taking a look at returning to Oakland, where he enjoyed some of his greatest successes as an NFL head coach.

Paul Gutierrez of CSN Bay Area reports that the Raiders refuted those rumors. The Raiders seemed very upset that people would think that Oakland would pursue a new head coach while Allen is away from the team due to family tragedy. Here is the official statement.

Members of the media: There are two people on this planet that have the ability to make talks happen between Jon Gruden and the Raiders, with regard to him allegedly taking over the football operations, and/or the position of head coach. Each of those individuals, owner Mark Davis and general manager Reggie McKenzie, wanted me to communicate that this rumor has no validity whatsoever. And for the record, I’m personally disgusted that Hub Arkush would spread such an untruth on the day our head coach, Dennis Allen, had to determine with his mom, his brother and sister, whether to take his dad off life support or wait and hope that he would regain consciousness. Dennis didn’t have an opportunity to say goodbye to his dad, but he did have an opportunity to take a phone call regarding Hub’s story.

Gruden's first head coaching job in the NFL came with the Oakland Raiders after spending several seasons as the Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator. During four seasons, the Raiders went 38-26, including two playoff appearances in his final two years. Oakland finished first in the AFC West both years, winning their first playoff game both years, and losing their second playoff game both years.