Maxx Crosby discusses Jon Gruden during Raiders exit

While the Jon Gruden era of the Las Vegas Raiders came with its trials and tribulations, one of the high points of his tenure was the drafting of a defensive end from Eastern Michigan by the name of Maxx Crosby in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft.

Crosby turned out to be the heir apparent to Khalil Mack in Las Vegas, but it was not long in his NFL career that the Gruden era came crashing down. Shortly after the start of the 2021 season, emails surfaced between Gruden and then-Washington Football Team general manager Bruce Allen between 2018 and 2019. The contents of the e-mail disparaging NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, as well as using racist, misogynistic and homophobic slurs, most notably towards executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent.

Gruden would resign shortly after the emails went public, and Crosby was one of the players affected by all that transpired.

Crosby detailed what Gruden’s emotional state was like in the immediate aftermath.

On former NFL quarterback Johnny Manziel’s “Glory Daze” YouTube show, Crosby talked about his first meeting with Gruden after the incident.

“I went to Gruden’s house right after it happened,” Crosby said. “He was just sitting in his living room. He was just sitting in the corner like the godfather, and he couldn’t even look me in the eyes, he was f***ed up and he was tearing up.”

Crosby added that Gruden apologized for what happened, as well as promising his star pass rusher that he would return at some point. He also expressed gratitude to Gruden during the meeting for giving him the chance to prove himself as a young player at the NFL level.

Despite all that happened, Gruden has remained active in NFL circles, albeit not in a coaching capacity. In 2023, Gruden was invited by the New Orleans Saints to attend their offseason meetings. Most recently, Gruden was present at the OTAs of the Baltimore Ravens, where head coach John Harbaugh had nothing but good things to say about his involvement.

“He loves football, he’s a great football coach, great football mind,” Harbaugh said on June 6. “He studied our team, gave us some insight – players, coaches, schemes, all of it.

“We didn’t give him the playbook, we didn’t give him a script either. You can only go so far. He studied us. Basically, the message was, ‘If I was game planning against you on defense, what would I do, how would I attack you?’ He didn’t just stop there. He watched our offensive guys. He had something for each player. Very, very detailed.”

Gruden remaining involved as he has with the NFL is no surprise to those that know him, and line up with what Crosby said about his former head coach.

“The dude is addicted to football, that’s all he does and I think he will get another opportunity whether it’s college or being a head coach somewhere or coming back to the league and doing it at some point,” Crosby said.