Oakland Raiders: Three Raiders with the most to prove in 2018

Jon Gruden

While he is not a player, no one on the Raiders, or even all of the NFL for that matter, has more to prove than Jon Gruden. After returning to coaching following a hiatus from the profession that spanned over a decade, Jon Gruden has all eyes on him.

For years prior to this hire, there have been rumors of a comeback by the super bowl winning coach for several years. These of course never became anything more than just rumors, as Gruden had a great job on television that he would only leave if the perfect situation was there.

For him, the Raiders were this situation. Having already coached for this team once before and walking onto a roster full of talent, including the important thing for team success, a franchise quarterback, the appeal of the Oakland Raiders head coaching job was apparent.

The return of Jon Gruden to the team had many around the league excited for the Raiders future, but some were not so sold on the hire. It was an immediate concern for some that maybe the game has passed Gruden by. The league has completely changed since the times when Gruden was coaching. Can he adapt to the new NFL?

Fuel was added to this fire after Gruden came out and said he wishes to “throw the game back to 1998.” This statements caused those that thought Gruden’s game would turn out to be outdated to double down on this sentiment. Can you blame them? He essentially said just that.

Next: For Oakland's Kolton Miller, the future may be upon him

The jury is still out, as we have not yet seen a single game be played, but one thing is for certain, Jon Gruden is under immense pressure and has a whole lot to prove before all of doubters are willing to admit that his approach to the game is still viable.