The stir around the Las Vegas Raiders is at an all-time high after head coach Jon Gruden resigned following a series of emails involving racist tropes. In turn, special teams coordinator and assistant head coach Rich Bisaccia was named the interim head coach for the remainder of the season in Las Vegas.
The Raiders will now get right to work despite everything that has happened in the previous days leading up to Gruden walking away from the organization. Reactions are all over the place, as is expected. Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin spoke to reporters on Tuesday about the Gruden situation and got honest about his former colleague and mentor.
Mike Tomlin saddened by Gruden
It has been a stunning turn of events in Las Vegas, and Gruden is now out as the head coach after signing a massive 10-year contract just a couple of seasons ago.
Tomlin, who was Gruden’s defensive backs coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, expressed his sadness on the situation (h/t Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
“I’m just saddened by it. I’m saddened for the Raiders organization. I’m saddened for the people who were offended by it. I’m saddened for coach Gruden. It’s a sad commentary. That’s the only opinion I care to share at this juncture.”
Mike Tomlin after Jon Gruden resigned as Raiders head coach
Just an upsetting situation, and now Gruden’s future as a coach in the NFL is in question after the latest events. Tomlin didn’t want to get into it too much, especially due to their close relationship with one another, but repeated that he was “saddened.”
The Steelers faced the Raiders in Week 2, and Gruden’s team walked away with the victory in what very well could be the final matchup between the two Super Bowl-winning head coaches.
Gruden, the mentor
Gruden has been credited with developing many head coaches at the NFL level, with Tomlin being one of the most successful. Tomlin was hired to join the Bucs staff back in the early 2000s by Tony Dungy. Gruden took over as head coach the following season and kept Tomlin on the staff, working with him every step of the way.
Nearly two decades later, Tomlin is one of the best head coaches in the NFL level every season and has had much success with the Steelers. Tomlin’s resume includes a Super Bowl victory in 2009 against the Arizona Cardinals as Tomlin made history as the youngest head coach to win the Lombardi Trophy.
It is no surprise Tomlin has a soft spot in his heart for Gruden, and one can only imagine how difficult it was for Tomlin to address the recent findings from the Raiders head coach.
What’s next for the Raiders?
The fallout over the next few weeks in Las Vegas will be a wild one. Players and coaches have expressed their feelings on the finding of Gruden, and Rich Bisaccia has a tall task to try and regain confidence in the locker room. Former NFL wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson was one to lay into Gruden after he resigned, and much more will come about as the situation continues to unfold.
On the field, Las Vegas has dropped two straight games and has scored just 23 points throughout those games, and now dealing with this matter is tough to overcome for any franchise.
They are going backwards after an undefeated start to the year that ended at the hands of the Los Angeles Chargers, and Bisaccia has the unfathomable job of getting the guys back together in time for a divisional game on Sunday against the Denver Broncos.
Stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference
RELATED: Keyshawn Johnson Crushes Former Coach Jon Gruden 18 Years After Their Famous Feud: ‘He’s Been a Used-Car Salesman, and People Bought It’
The post Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin Drops Honest Take After Disturbing Jon Gruden Situation Unfolds appeared first on Sportscasting | Pure Sports.
-------------------------------------
By: Matthew Wadleigh
Title: Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin Drops Honest Take After Disturbing Jon Gruden Situation Unfolds
Sourced From: www.sportscasting.com/steelers-head-coach-mike-tomlin-drops-honest-take-after-disturbing-jon-gruden-situation-unfolds/
Published Date: Tue, 12 Oct 2021 21:33:14 +0000
Did you miss our previous article...
https://consumernewsnetwork.com/pro-sports/chicago-bulls-could-get-a-major-backcourt-boost-from-an-overlooked-hometown-kid
