Gruden hopeful to be candidate for Raiders head coach

Jon Gruden confirmed his interest in the open Oakland Raiders head coaching position Tuesday.

Gruden, who has not coached since 2008, has spent the past nine seasons as an analyst for ESPN and doing color commentary on Monday Night Football. Asked whether or not he believes he is in fact a candidate for the Raiders’ vacant head coaching position, Gruden told Jerry McDonald of the East Bay Times:

“I think I am being considered, yes. I hope I’m a candidate.”

Former head coach Jack Del Rio was fired after three seasons, finishing his last 6-10 amidst the highest of expectations.

Gruden coached the Raiders from 1998 through 2001, beating them in the 2002 Super Bowl as the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In four seasons before leaving Oakland, he went 64-38 — good enough for the fourth-best winning percentage (.594) in franchise history.

According to Gruden, the interviewing process began this week, with a decision to be made as soon as next week. In preparation for that decision, Gruden has initiated his search for prospective assistant coaches.

Kalama Hines is SFBay’s sports director and Oakland Raiders beat writer. Follow @SFBay and @HineSight_2020 on Twitter and at SFBay.ca for full coverage of Raiders football.