New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen said he was not concerned about any potential “backlash” he might face after inviting former Los Angeles Raiders coach Jon Gruden to attend practices last week, more than a year and a half after an email leak forced Gruden out of the league.
Following Tuesday’s OTA session, Allen said Gruden was among several coaches who have visited the team, adding the motivation behind the invitation was Gruden’s connection with quarterback Derek Carr.
Head coach Jon Gruden of the Las Vegas Raiders talks with quarterback Derek Carr during a game against the Miami Dolphins at Allegiant Stadium Sept. 26, 2021, in Las Vegas. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
“Obviously, Jon’s a guy that has a lot of experience with Derek, and Derek has had his most success under Jon Gruden,” Allen said.
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“And, so, we felt like bringing him in, having a chance to sit down and visit with him as an offensive staff, with the quarterbacks and just getting some new thoughts and ideas of things we might be able to implement.”
Allen said the visit from Gruden likely won’t result in any major overhaul of the team’s offensive strategy.
“I would say, offensively, for a long time that I’ve been here, we’ve been pretty effective offensively. So, I don’t see us putting in a whole new offense or doing something dramatic. But if there’s a few ideas that we could take from that, we felt like that would be beneficial.”
Head coach Jon Gruden of the Oakland Raiders talks to quarterback Derek Carr (4) before a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at RingCentral Coliseum Dec. 15, 2019, in Oakland, Calif. (Jason O. Watson/Getty Images)
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When pressed further on if he was “worried” about any potential “backlash,” Allen dismissed the notion.
“No, look, you ask everybody that was involved, and they thought it was really beneficial for our football team,” he said. “And, look, we’re going to look at any avenue that we can to try to improve. So that was one area we thought, just bringing him in and having the opportunity to sit down and visit with him would help us.”
Raiders head coach Jon Gruden runs off the field for halftime during a game against the Chicago Bears Oct. 10, 2021, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. (Heidi Fang/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
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Gruden resigned from the Raiders in 2021 after an investigation into Washington’s workplace misconduct found that he sent emails containing racist, misogynistic and homophobic language over the course of a 10-year period.
He later apologized and said he was “ashamed” of it.
Fox News’ Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.