The Las Vegas Raiders played their first game since Jin Gruden resigned over emails he’d sent that includes racist and homophobic language. Turns out, the team is doing just fine without him, beating the Denver Broncos on the road, 34-24.
After the game, running back Josh Jacobs was asked by reporters what it was like on the sidelines without Gruden’s fiery personality around and it turns out that things were way more chill under interim coach Rich Bisaccia.
"Man, the sideline was just so, it was like, it wasn't no anxiety. It was weird. It was like everybody was calm, you didn't have somebody cussing at you, or going crazy at the refs. None of that. Something bad happened and it like, 'OK, next play.'" – #Raiders RB Josh Jacobs
— Paul Gutierrez (@PGutierrezESPN) October 20, 2021
“Man, the sideline … it was like (there was no) anxiety,” Jacobs said. “It was weird. It was like everybody was calm. You didn’t have somebody cussing at you, or going crazy at the refs. None of that.”
When the inevitable bad play occurred, Jacobs said “it was like, ‘OK, not going to harp on it, next play.’ The guys all kind of motivated each other. You saw a lot of defensive guys standing up and offensive guys jumping off the bench when the defense made plays. I was like, that’s the right type of energy that we needed. I loved it.”
That fits given Gruden’s reputation, even before it became public knowledge what kind of thoughts he had behind-the-scenes regarding certain types of people. Who knows, if the Raiders are able to keep the momentum going and make the playoffs, something they never did in Gruden’s second stint with the franchise, it might just confirm that they were better off without him in just about every way.
