This morning on Cris Collinsworth's podcast, the Raiders' head coach made one thing very clear: he's not afraid of the NFL.
Gruden wasn't the only guest on the podcast. He was accompanied by Richard Sherman, cornerback of the 49ers, who is apparently becoming a free agent. More than that, he's someone that Gruden is interested in as a player. Knowing this, Cris Collinsworth gave Gruden the opportunity to lay low and not violate the league's handbook.
“I know there’s tampering rules out there and I don’t want to bring up anything that might create a problem for you, because I know that you’ve been fined a few shekels over the years,” Collinsworth said.
Initially, it seemed that Gruden agreed. Collinsworth was over here watching his back, even if he should've known the rules already. “Yes I have," Gruden said, "I’ve been fined, I’ve been punished very, very harshly."
The sentiment didn't last long, considering the Gruden also said this:
"Richard Sherman, if you are a free agent, which there is a rumor you are, we are looking for an alpha presence in our secondary. Somebody that could play this Hawk 3-press technique with the read step. If you’re available and interested, maybe you and I can get together at some point off air.”
Sherman isn't the only new recruit, either. Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator Gus Bradley became a Raider in January 2021, and Sherman is familiar with his coaching style, having played under him as a Seahawk in 2012.
What about Sherman's reply to Gruden's decidedly inappropriate proposition? He said, “There’s a conversation to be had, for sure. I am free and available these days."
Well. Maybe we'll have a new cornerback in Vegas.
In case there's any confusion on what constitutes tampering, here is an excerpt from the NFL's anti-tampering policy:
“Any public or private statement of interest, qualified or unqualified, in another club’s player to that player’s agent or representative, or to a member of the news media, is a violation of this Anti-Tampering Policy.”
Sherman, still on San Francisco's roster, is very much another club's player. Also, I'm pretty sure you could take Gruden's statement of interest and make it a Tinder pickup line. "I'm looking for an alpha presence...if you are available and interested."
What was the NFL's response?
So far, nothing.
A GM of another team readily said "This is blatant tampering" but, other than that, the NFL has not taken action against Gruden's comments.
Let's be honest: all of this behavior is perfectly on-brand for the Raiders. They have a reputation for being the dark side of the league, and that includes breaking rules. It's something intriguing about their persona, and it makes them so much fun to love or hate. Who could forget dirty players like George Atkinson, who hit Lynn Swann the back of the helmet and gave him a concussion twice; or Lyle Alzado, who has a rule named after him because he ripped off an opponent's helmet and threw it at another guy (seriously, look at the Lyle Alzado Rule)? Many of them, including Alzado, have also been caught using steroids in the past, which effectively bars them from being Hall-of-Famers. In more recent years, Vontaze Burfict, a linebacker for the Raiders, has developed a reputation for violating player safety. He has 22 game suspensions and over $5.3 million in fines to prove it.
I digress, though - back to the tampering. Do we think Jon Gruden will be disciplined? It's hard to say whether a fine would deter him from repeating this offence, considering he's done it before (and come on, like a successful NFL coach can't pay a fine). Maybe the repercussions need to be heightened a little, unless the league's not that worried about it. Lord knows Gruden isn't.