Fansided

Jon Gruden ranked as top 10 coach in power rankings

By Thomas Wheaton

5 Nov 2001: Jon Gruden head coach of the Oakland Raiders shouts on the sideline in their game versus the Denver Broncos at Network Associates Coliseum in Oakland, California. The Raiders won 38-28. DIGITAL IMAGE Mandatory Credit: Jed Jacobsohn/Allsport
5 Nov 2001: Jon Gruden head coach of the Oakland Raiders shouts on the sideline in their game versus the Denver Broncos at Network Associates Coliseum in Oakland, California. The Raiders won 38-28. DIGITAL IMAGE Mandatory Credit: Jed Jacobsohn/Allsport /
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The NFL ranked all 32 head coaches, and perhaps surprisingly, Jon Gruden found himself in the top 10.

For the previous decade, technically nine seasons, Jon Gruden has resided in the booth calling Monday Night Football games. This offseason however the Raiders came calling and offered up a deal that he simply could not turn down, and frankly would have been foolish for even entertaining the notion of saying no.  Head coaching jobs in the NFL are rare, there can only be 32 at one time. So when you get offered a 10-year, $100 million contract, you sign the dotted line as quickly as you can.

Gruden will make his much anticipated return to the sidelines when the Raiders host the Los Angeles Rams on Sept. 10. Since he has been gone, the game of football has changed significantly. One would assume that would make it difficult for a coach to return to.

Luckily for Gruden, he has not stopped studying the game. In fact, he thinks he knows more now after spending time as a broadcaster, learning how every team operates. As such, with his resume and the last nine years of studying, Gruden earned himself ninth place on the head coach power rankings.

Gruden finds himself only behind some of the most successful coaches to date. Bill Belichick took first place (for obvious reasons) and Sean Payton, Pete Carroll, Mike Tomlin and John Harbaugh round out the top five.

Interestingly, Gruden only trails the most recent Super Bowl winning head coach Doug Pederson by one place. That’s some esteemed company in the top 10.

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All of this is clearly just a shot in the dark and by no means does it mean that the Raiders will be great this season. But for Raiders fans, it must be nice to finally see the league giving some respect to their head coach.