W said:
Gruden made $10 MM per season coaching the Raiders for 3+ years.
he'll be okay
No he didn't and that's exactly why he was fired.
Since the Raiders were moving from Oakland to Las Vegas, Gruden didn't want to lose millions to California's ridiculously high income tax so he requested a
back loaded contract. For the first 5 years, Gruden was making ~$5M per year and the last years Gruden would make ~$15M per year.
For reference,
league average is around $7M per year. The highest paid coach is Belicheck at $12M per year. At $5M per year, Gruden was getting paid on the same as NFL legends Joe Judge and Vic Fangio.
From the Raiders perspective, it was a great deal. Get Gruden for 5 years on a cheap bargain and if he makes them a Superbowl contender, pay him at the top of the league.
So were the Raiders close to competing for a Superbowl?
When Gruden started in 2018, the Chiefs were dominating the AFC West. Gruden traded the top talent (Khalil Mack & Amari Coper) for future picks. The Raiders are predictably bottom dwellers at 4-12. The next two season are an improvement but still only average at 7-9 & 8-8.
By 2021, the tides had changed. The Chiefs were struggling and the AFC West was up for grabs. The Raiders start strong upsetting a talented Ravens team. They then eek out wins against bad Steelers and Dolphins.
Next they lose a crucial game and the division lead to the Chargers in a game that was never really in question. This weekend, the Raiders got embarrassed by an average Chicago team.
It was clear that the Raiders wouldn't be in the playoffs this season. The Gruden experiment was over. He is an average coach who wouldn't live up to his hype, but the Raiders were stuck with him an his hefty contract for 6 more seasons.
So how do you get out of a bad contract situation? Dig up some old emails and call him a racist.
It's not about sending a message. It's about the money.