Jon Gruden out as Raiders head coach after racist, homophobic, misogynist emails emerge

The NFL has seen its first head coaching change of the season, and it is coming on the heels of a scandal: Jon Gruden, who has led the Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders since 2018, resigned on Monday after a series of offense emails emerged.

The Raiders shared the following statement on behalf of Gruden on Monday afternoon, after initial reports broke that he would step down from his position:

I have resigned as Head Coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. I love the Raiders and do not want to be a distraction. Thank you to all the players, coaches, staff, and fans of Raider Nation. I’m sorry, I never meant to hurt anyone.

Team owner Mark Davis later also released a statement a short time later:

I have accepted Jon Gruden’s resignation as Head Coach of the Las Vegas Raiders.

The first email was revealed last week, when the Wall Street Journal reported that Gruden wrote a racist tope about NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith back in 2011. On Monday, the situation reached a new level: the New York Times revealed that the NFL, which was investigating Gruden, was in possession of several other emails which included racist, homophobic and misogynist comments.

The 58-year-old reportedly called NFL commissioner Roger Goodell a homophobic name, criticized female officials and players kneeling during the national anthem. He furthermore bemoaned the then-St. Louis Rams drafting an openly gay player, Michael Sam, in 2014.

Gruden, who already led the club between 1998 and 2011, returned to the Raiders in 2018 on a 10-year, $100 million contract. During his three seasons since re-joining the Silver and Black, he led the team to a 22-31 record, including a 3-2 record this year.

With Gruden gone, special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia will take over as interim head coach.