Sep 19, 2021; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden looks on from the sidelines against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the second quarter at Heinz Field. Las Vegas won 26-17. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Is Former Raiders HC Jon Gruden Being Blackballed?

Originally posted on Las Vegas Raiders on SI
By Ezekiel Trezevant | Last updated Jul 6, 2025 11:00 AM ET

The Las Vegas Raiders are one of the most storied franchises in all of sports. Their history and legacy are decades in the making, marked by many highs, lows, and events that are hard to believe happened. One of those events is Jon Gruden's most recent departure from the Raiders.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk noted a small but potentially significant development regarding Gruden's relationship with the league.

"The ice has thawed between the Buccaneers and former coach Jon Gruden, who is back in the team’s Ring of Honor. The ice remains solid between the league and Gruden," Florio said.

"On America’s birthday, NFL Network televises a marathon of the America’s Game series. Each episode consists of a one-hour look at every Super Bowl champion — starting with the 1966 Green Bay Packers and culminating with the 2023 Kansas City Chiefs. (The newest episode, focusing on the 2024 Philadelphia Eagles, has yet to be released.)

"Still gone is the episode devoted to the 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (featuring Gruden). He was forced to resign as coach of the Raiders during the 2021 season after emails he’d sent years earlier were leaked from the files of an investigation into the Washington franchise. He has a lawsuit still pending against the league and Commissioner Roger Goodell," Florio said.

Pro Football talk previously noted that the reason Gruden's Super Bowl victory was left out may have a simple, but unconfirmed reasoning behind it.

"Our guess is that it traces directly to the fact that Jon Gruden, the first-year coach of the Super Bowl XXXVII champions at the time, currently has active litigation against the league -- and because he was forced out of his job as coach of the Raiders after someone (he claims in his lawsuit that it was the league office and the Commissioner) leaked emails Gruden had sent to former Washington executive Bruce Allen in 2011," PFT said.

Raiders' veteran defensive end Maxx Crosby recalled Gruden's exit from the Silver and Black.

"It makes me sick for him [Gruden]. The dude is addicted to football. He is a football lifer. Gruden was so good to me, and when that situation happened, I remember it so vividly. We started the year so well, we beat Baltimore in OT, we went to Pittsburgh, we beat Pittsburgh... we were feeling really good. We are cooking, we are feeling great," Crosby said.

Find us on X (formerly Twitter) @HondoCarpenter and Instagram @HondoSr and weigh in on this belief!

While here, check out our Facebook page WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE to discuss this belief!

This article first appeared on Las Vegas Raiders on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: