Jon Gruden admits he's a Raiders coaching candidate, reportedly could get $10M/year

The rumors surrounding the Raiders coaching situation continue to pick up steam

The elephant in the room finally acknowledged he is in the room Tuesday. Almost immediately after Jack Del Rio was fired by the Raiders on Sunday after Oakland lost in Week 17 to the Chargers, the rumors about Jon Gruden began swirling. 

Adam Schefter of ESPN reported that Gruden, who also works at ESPN, will be the next Raiders head coach. It is considered a fait acompli that Gruden will take over for the Silver and Black once he finishes his duties Saturday following ESPN's playoff game.

Now Gruden, via Jerry McDonald of the San Jose Mercury-News, has finally acknowledged he is a candidate. 

Asked by McDonald about the situation in Oakland, Gruden said he hears the Raiders are "interviewing candidates this week."

"My understanding is they're interviewing candidates this week and they're going to let everybody know sometime early next week or whenever they make their decision," Gruden said.

Pressed about the specifics of his situation, Gruden said he thinks he is "being considered." 

"Well, I think I am being considered, yes. I hope I'm a candidate," Gruden said.

It has been nearly a decade since Gruden last coached in the NFL -- he has actually been with ESPN on "Monday Night Football" longer (eight years) than he was with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (seven years). Gruden was fired after the 2008 season by the Glazer family, despite winning a Super Bowl for Tampa in his first year with the Bucs.

That was 2002, the year after Gruden was traded by the Raiders to the Bucs, who gave up two first-round picks and $8 million to acquire the -- at the time -- young coach. 

Stepping away from life as an NFL coach was actually beneficial for Gruden. Despite being fired, he's become the proverbial white whale for NFL franchises hoping to really make a splash hire. The Raiders are reportedly considering a situation where Gruden would get an ownership stake in the franchise.

According to the guys at FootballScoop.com, the ownership stake might not actually happen. But Gruden will be handsomely compensated anyway, maybe more so than any other coach in football. Per their report, Gruden is going to get in the range of $10 million per year. 

Sources tell FootballScoop the deal is expected to be along the lines of $10 million per year, fully guaranteed for five (or more) years. There is expected to be upside in the deal for Jon in terms of bonuses, but not ownership / equity or carried interest we are told.

What to watch for here: Next Monday is Jan. 8, 2018. That would be 20 years to the day that the Raiders hired Gruden the first time, as noted by McDonald. 

Gruden began his head coaching career with the Raiders at 34. He was, at the time, the youngest head coach in NFL history. He would go on to become the youngest head coach to win a Super Bowl in his first season with the Buccaneers after the trade. 

Raiders fans certainly hope time is about to become a flat circle again.