Former Coaching Colleagues Facing Off in Las Vegas

For the first time in 12 seasons, Jon Gruden and Sean Payton are reuniting as opponents.

It’s not just the players who are fighting for a win on Monday night.

On the sidelines, the two respective coaches, Jon Gruden and Sean Payton, have a bit of a history together.

For a single season in 1997, Gruden hired Payton as his quarterbacks’ coach in Philadelphia. At the time, Gruden was the offensive coordinator for the Eagles. Ray Rhodes was running the show.

“Ray Rhodes made me hire Sean because I was yelling too much, so Sean came to calm me down,” Gruden told Raiders.com “Brought us a lot of fresh ideas. We used to stay up late at night trying to figure out how to get a first down. “

Although brief, the two head coaches have experience together. For example, Payton knows Gruden is committed to the running game. It’s what he witnessed when he was on his staff.

Payton knows to attack the offensive line and get as many tacklers on running back Josh Jacobs as possible.

With that said, the last time the two coaches met each other on opposing sidelines was 12 seasons ago, when Gruden was the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Gruden’s squad won 9-3 in Tampa, albeit with a completely different team.

As much as Payton might seem to know Gruden, a lot has changed since 1997.

Gruden and Payton both have a Super Bowl ring on their fingers.

Gruden at one point retired and walked into the Monday Night Football booth, only to return to the NFL 10 years later.

Payton might know how Gruden’s offense works, but Gruden, for nearly a decade, saw how Payton ran his entire team from the comfort of the booth.

Gruden saw how Payton runs his offense with uarterback Drew Brees at the helm, and Gruden saw Payton’s priorities in defense.

It’s a 12-year reunion in the making. It should be an entertaining one.

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