Sports | December 31, 2017 8:16 am

Raiders Preparing Offer for Jon Gruden as Coach: Report

As team prepares for Las Vegas move, ESPN reports offer will include partial ownership.

Former head coach of the Oakland Raiders and now ESPN Monday Night Football Analyst Jon Gruden looks on during pre-game warm ups before an NFL football game between the New Orleans Saints and Oakland Raiders at O.co Coliseum on November 18, 2012 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

By Ethan Sacks

With the Raiders impending move to Las Vegas for the 2020 season, the team is apparently preparing a major roll of the dice to bring back former head coach Jon Gruden. Sources told ESPN that the potential deal would include an ownership stake for the current ESPN analyst. The gig would have a lot of potential appeal for Gruden beyond the homecoming to a franchise he didn’t want to leave in 2001: The contract would expected to be backloaded to pay him more after the Raiders’ move to Nevada, where he wouldn’t have to pay state income tax. It remains unclear, however, if other NFL owners would approve the deal because of the precedent it sets.