Mark Davis says former Bucs coach Jon Gruden got ‘his head chopped off’ in email scandal

The Las Vegas Raiders owner opened up about Jon Gruden's controversy from years back.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Jon Gruden holds up the Vince Lombardi Trophy after winning Super Bowl XXXVIII against the Oakland Raiders at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, CA on Jan. 26, 2003.

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Jon Gruden holds up the Vince Lombardi Trophy after winning Super Bowl XXXVIII against the Oakland Raiders at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, CA on Jan. 26, 2003. Xxx Axx Letfeat 29 S Fbn Ca / ROBERT HANASHIRO / USA TODAY NETWORK

Jon Gruden has been doing work with Barstool Sports as a content creator, which is a bit of a change from his time of being a coach in the NFL. Still, football is at the center of his career. He's no longer a part of the league, though.

While Gruden's most recent stint in the NFL was controversial and saw him step down from his position as the Las Vegas Raiders' head coach, enjoyed a successful tenure with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers many years ago. Well, sort of.

Gruden led the Buccaneers to a Super Bowl victory in 2002 in his first year with the club. He only had one more double-digit win season in seven years with the team before being fired after the 2008 season. He finished with a 57-55 record in Tampa.

Jon Gruden
Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden reacts against the Baltimore Ravens during the second half at Allegiant Stadium. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Most recently, Gruden had a second stint as the Raiders head coach after a break from being the head man in the NFL. He resigned after Week 5 of the 2021 NFL season. Recently, Raiders owner Mark Davis claimed Gruden had his "head chopped off" during the controversy.

"Bringing in Tom Brady was bringing in somebody on the football side that I had been lacking here at the organization," Davis said. "Back in 2018, with Jon Gruden, he was somebody I brought in and expected to really be that person on the football side that would bring stability to the organization. He had a 10-year contract and all that, and his head was chopped off. We were put in a really bad position as an organization."

The context of Davis' statement comes as he was talking about the club's stability in Las Vegas, and how Tom Brady's arrival as a minority owner has weathered the storm and added stability they haven't had since Gruden was a member of the franchise.

Jon Grude
Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden looks on during the second half against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Davis was sure to mention that Gruden had his head chopped off at the time of the scandal. It hurt the club, which was on a downward trajectory after the controversy transpired.


READ MORE: Baker Mayfield breaks record Tom Brady never did with the Buccaneers

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Kade Kimble
KADE KIMBLE

Kade has been covering a wide variety of teams ranging from the NFL to the NBA and college athletics since joining Sports Illustrated's FanNation in 2022.