Rankings Raiders coach Jon Gruden by tiers

We previously ranked Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr by tiers with other players at his position in the NFL.

Now, it’s only right that we do the same exercise with Raiders’ coach Jon Gruden.

Gruden is entering the fourth season of a 10-year, $100 million contract to coach the Raiders. It’s been a bumpy return to the franchise for Gruden. He is 19-29 in three seasons and is the only coach not lead his team to the playoffs in each of the past three seasons to still have his job.

So, don’t expect to see Gruden’s name high on this list entering this season. The seven new head coaches aren’t eligible because we have never seen them roam the sideline. So, our coaching pool is only 25 deep.

Tier 1

Bill Belichick (New England Patriots), Andy Reid (Kansas City Chiefs), John Harbaugh (Baltimore Ravens), Mike Tomlin (Pittsburgh Steelers), Sean Payton (New Orleans Saints), Pete Carroll (Seattle Seahawks).

These guys all may end up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. What a power group.

Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

Tier 2

Bruce Arians (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), Kyle Shanahan (San Francisco 49ers), Sean McDermott (Buffalo Bills), Sean McVay (Los Angeles Rams). Matt LeFleur (Green Bay Packers), Frank Reich (Indianapolis Colts).

This is a pretty special group, too. I see multiple Super Bowl parades featuring these guys.

Tier 3

Ron Rivera (Washington Football Team), Mike Vrabel (Tennessee Titans), Kevin Stefanski (Cleveland Browns), Mike Zimmer (Minnesota Vikings), Brian Flores (Miami Dolphins), Matt Nagy (Chicago Bears).

This tier shows just how many good head coaches are working right now. Rivera and Vrabel could both easily be Tier 2 coaches. There is no shame on this list.

Photo by Elsa/Getty Images

Tier 4

Mike McCarthy (Dallas Cowboys), Jon Gruden (Las Vegas Raiders), Matt Rhule (Carolina Panthers), Kliff Kingsbury (Arizona Cardinals).

Why McCarthy over Chucky? McCarthy is 131-87-2 in his coaching career. Gruden is 114-110. That breaks my tie.

Tier 5

Joe Judge (New York Giants), Vic Fangio (Denver Broncos), Zac Taylor (Cincinnati Bengals).

I actually think Judge has a chance to be good. Fangio, though, has not been impressive on game day and the jury is still out on Taylor.

Conclusion:
I have Gruden ranked No. 20. If you look at the last three years, that is definitely a fair range for him.