Turning the Page in Las Vegas

John Gruden resigned Monday from the Las Vegas Raiders head coach position after a series of emails were released. The emails included racist, misogynistic and anti-gay language.

Gruden took the job as Raiders Head Coach in 2018, his second stint with the team. In three years he accumulated a record of 22-31. Gruden was in the fourth year of a 10-year contract worth about $100 million. Times have changed for the Raiders.

Las Vegas named Rich Bisaccia as interim head coach. Bisaccia was previously the special teams coordinator and and an assistant head coach for the Raiders over the last three years.

Bisaccia has coached mostly special teams over his 20-year NFL coaching career. He’s coached with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2002-2010), the San Diego Chargers (2011-2012) and the Dallas Cowboys (2013-2017). Now, Raiders GM Mike Mayock believes that Bisaccia is ready to be a head coach.

On to the Next

The Raiders, who are currently 3-2, are looking to turn the page. Las Vegas travels to Denver for a big AFC West Division matchup. Mayock acknowledged that even with the coaching change, the season is not over.

After starting the season with three straight wins, the Raiders have dropped back to back games to the Chargers and Chicago Bears. Las Vegas has struggled to score the last two weeks averaging just 11.5 points per game. Quarterback Derek Carr has thrown two touchdowns and  two interceptions over the last two games.

The offensive line has struggled to protect Carr of late giving up seven sacks over the last two weeks. The defense has not been great either. While the team has three wins, the defense is giving up 24 points a game. The offense used to bail out the defense, but now the defense needs to step up.

As for special teams, place kick Daniel Carlson is doing his job. Carlson is 10-for-11 on field goals and 9-for-10 on extra points. Punter A.J. Cole has also placed just under half of his punts (10 of 23) inside the 20 yard line. Bisaccia now looks to translate his special teams success to the entire team. Mayock is not worried.

As for what the head coach position looks like long-term, Mayock has not made that decision yet.