Jon Gruden's $ 100 million contract with the Raiders means pressure on

There is pressure with a huge salary. The Raiders' $ 100 million 10-year contract with Jon Gruden probably means his job security will not be jeopardized in the near future, but it also means he's under the microscope.

It's a lot of money for a coach who does not have 10 years of training anymore.

There is reason to be optimistic about the fact that Gruden's time as a Monday night football commentator and analyst have allowed him to learn, to evolve and to better understand how to lead a team. But it must also be remembered that in the six seasons following the Super Bowl Buccaneers' win, he set a regular season record of 45-51 and a 0-2 record in the playoffs.

Gruden faced the weight of expectations the day he took his job, but his first eight months in Oakland only added to the pressure.

Trading Khalil Mack casts a shadow

Towards the end of August – and a few days before Mack was sent to the Chicago Bears – the SB Nation Raiders blog, Silver and Black Pride, summarized the seriousness of a possible exchange:

One can not underestimate how much Jon Gruden's story is a mistake. He did not even train his first game with the Raiders and he is already running a serious risk of raining on his own parade by winning the championship without the best defensive player in the NFL.

The Raiders received a few first-round picks, a third-round pick and a sixth-round pick in the race, and gave the Bears a second-round pick with Mack.

In Mack's first game with Chicago, he only made matters worse by making his debut with one of the most dominant defensive halves. In a prime time game against the Packers with the football world watching, Mack became the first player since 1982 with a bag, an interception, a forced landing, a forced escape and a failure of recovery in one half.

The point of friction for the Raiders was the huge contract Mack was asking for and receiving from the Bears the same day it was traded. According to Gruden, Mack's retention for more money proved that he was not a sufficiently devoted member of the Raiders.

Mack was probably the only solid base for a defense that has struggled in recent seasons. Without Mack, it will take a step further in the wrong direction and Gruden will face more criticism than if the new defender of Bears continues to excel.

Mack was not the only puzzling decision

Gruden is a character. He's an entertaining personality who spent the first months of his return to the Raiders talking about his love of old school football and back-side racing. One player said that he was showing the team game band several decades ago:

All was not bad. The Raiders have made much needed changes to the high school and have been on the defensive line in the NFL draft in 2018. But there is a growing list of hits the team has made since Gruden's arrival:

• Jordy Nelson, a 33-year-old former Packers receiver, signed a $ 15 million contract for two years, instead of keeping receiver 31-year-old Michael Crabtree, who signed a $ 21 million three years.
• Cordarrelle Patterson, receiver traded against the Patriots, with a sixth round pick to get a fifth-round pick.
• Exchanged a third-round pick against the Steelers for Martavis Bryant, who was cut by the Raiders after the pre-season.
• Swapped a fifth-round pick to win AJ McCarron, who fell out of Buffalo after losing a quarterback battle with Nathan Peterman and Josh Allen. Peterman finished Week 1 with two interceptions and a pass mark of 0.0.
• Doug Martin signed up for free agency after scoring an average of less than 3.0 yards per race in the past two seasons with the Buccaneers.

Technically, the training manager is still Executive Director Reggie McKenzie. But it's clear that Gruden is at the center of the team's future.

"Jon is the head coach and he's going to be there for a while, so it's important that he gets the players he wants and that he trains a team he wants to build," Mark Davis said. , owner of Raiders, in March. NBC Sports Bay Area. "Reggie is there with his staff to find the players, and also to keep the salary cap and all the rest in order."

The money will stop with Gruden. His gigantic contract allows him not to escape the heat and the contestable team building of the Raiders has further increased the pressure.