With the Raiders trying to find their way out of the football wilderness, their owner has pinpointed the moment when the team lost its way.
In the middle of his fourth season coaching the franchise in 2021, Jon Gruden resigned after a bombshell New York Times report revealed he had used homophobic and misogynistic language in emails.
Davis, speaking about the change in direction of the franchise on Monday after the hiring of Pete Carroll as coach, said that the moment of Gruden’s departure was the inflection point for the team.
“Bringing in Tom Brady was bringing in somebody on the football side that I had been lacking having here in the organization,” Davis said Monday. “Back in I guess it was ’18, with Jon Gruden. He was somebody that I brought in and really expected to be that person on the football side that would bring stability to the organization. He had a 10-year contract and all that, and his head was chopped off. And we were put in a really bad position as an organization.”
The Raiders did make the postseason in 2021, but have since had three straight losing seasons and are now bringing in their third full-time head coach in Carroll.
Carroll sat out this past season after he and the Seahawks parted ways following 14 years and two Super Bowl appearances.
He and new general manager John Spytek hope to instill a culture of lasting winning that the Raiders have sought to have again.
“It all starts with competition,” Carroll said Monday. “You’re either competing or you’re not. “If there’s one thing I want them to understand,” he added, “it’s that to be a great team, you have to be a great teammate.”
Davis added he has the “patience” to get the Raiders on the right track.
“We want to build something here and again, that’s been the process and that mindset all along,” the owner said.
The Raiders can get a chance to build toward that future in April’s draft, where they hold the No. 6 overall pick.
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