The Oakland Raiders were hoping for a big turnaround when they gave Jon Gruden a 10-year, $100 million contract to leave the broadcast booth for another head coaching tenure with the franchise.
Instead, the Raiders sit at the bottom of the AFC West standings with a 1-4 record. Gruden took the risk of trading 2016 Defensive Player of the Year Khalil Mack to the Chicago Bears for a bundle of draft picks. Predictably, the Oakland defense has been a mess without Mack, and Gruden has taken most of the heat for the team's struggles.
Gruden hasn't been shy in pointing the finger at himself during the team's early-season struggles. The Super Bowl 37-winning head coach also admitted to reporters that there's plenty of work to do before Oakland turns things around.
"I think we have a ways to go. We have a lot of to prove," Gruden said, via Scott Bair of NBC Bay Area. "We're playing eight rookies right now, and before the season's over we might be playing more than that. We have a lot to prove. We need to see some people get healthy and help us. We have a lot to prove."
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The Raiders took a risk in firing Jack Del Rio, who led this team to 12 wins in 2016 and their first playoff berth in 14 years. Owner Mark Davis cut Del Rio loose after a disappointing 2017 season and brought back Gruden, who hadn't coached for 10 years.
Oakland has let a handful of close games slip away, so the 1-4 record isn't an indicator of how they've been playing. This team blew a late lead to the Denver Broncos in Week 2 and lost on a last-second field goal. They were on the verge of defeating the Miami Dolphins in Week 3, but costly fourth quarter turnovers ended that hope.
Gruden and the Raiders own Chicago's 2019 and 2020 first-round picks from the Mack trade, so they do have the assets to turn it around quickly. Throw in a likely top-five pick in the 2019 draft, and there is reason for Raiders fans to hope their team will compete again soon.