The Oakland Raiders are hiring Jon Gruden as their next head coach. While the move will get plenty of national hype, it shouldn’t be a concern for the Kansas City Chiefs.
It’s amazing to think, but the Kansas City Chiefs are not the biggest story in the AFC West right now. No, that honor belongs to the Oakland Raiders and their (presumptive) new head coach. After a decade of Rumors (or Grumors), Jon Gruden is heading back to the sidelines to coach in the NFL, re-joining the Raiders franchise.
Over the past several years, there has been no hotter name in the coaching market than Jon Gruden. The Monday Night Football color commentator has been tied to nearly every job opening to come along. Most recently, Tennessee Volunteer fans were screaming for him, to no avail.
Of course, with Jon Gruden returning to football there will be no shortage of overreactions. You’re going to see plenty of pundits talking about how Gruden turns the Raiders into instant contenders. Frankly, it’s nonsense in my book, and I don’t think the Kansas City Chiefs have much to be worried about here. In fact, Andy Reid is already showing that he isn’t bothered.
Jon Gruden addresses the Raiders Grumors with @GolicAndWingo. pic.twitter.com/nYqPJuz4cf
— ESPN (@espn) January 3, 2018
Chiefs Are The Class Of The AFC West
As it stands, there is no denying that the Kansas City Chiefs own the AFC West right now. Back to back division titles and are 16-2 against the AFC West over the last three years. That’s establishing yourself as the best team in the division. Under Andy Reid, we have seen Kansas City become one of the stronger teams in the league.
The rest of the AFC West has been going in the opposite direction. The Raiders have just made another coaching change, and have just one winning record since the last time Jon Gruden coached them. The Broncos won a Super Bowl a couple years ago, but are now in a full rebuild. The Chargers don’t even know where they will live in a couple years.
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In terms of talent and stability, Kansas City is far and away the best team in the AFC West. Even with the team likely switching to Patrick Mahomes next year, there is no reason to think they’ll fall off. The Chiefs are playing some of the best football in franchise history, and should continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
More Of A Publicity Stunt
There’s another big reason why the Kansas City Chiefs have little to worry about with Jon Gruden. Let’s face it, this is more about putting a good public face on things than anything. After another disappointing season, and with a move to Las Vegas on the horizon, the Raiders needed something to put fans in seats on game day.
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Here is the simple truth: Jon Gruden hasn’t coached an actual game since 2008. That will be a full decade out of football between coaching gigs. To expect him to come in and fix that franchise right away is foolishness. Of course, that’s not going to stop the Oakland Raiders from making any decision.
This move is all about keeping interest as the team transitions from Oakland to Las Vegas. The Raiders are likely going to go through a pretty big overhaul here soon. Jon Gruden is just a public face for the team that fans will buy tickets for. In the end, when things don’t go well, he will also be an easy target for the blame as he heads back to ESPN.
For the Oakland Raiders, the problem with being a dumpster fire is that even when they put out the fire, they’re still just a dumpster.
The Kansas City Chiefs should have no worries about the Oakland Raiders hiring Jon Gruden. The Chiefs are still the top team in the AFC West, and will be until someone can knock them down. The way things are going, it doesn’t look like there will be a serious contender for that any time soon.