Legendary owner Al Davis built the mystique of the Raiders and in the process created a mystique of his own. He was and, in some ways, still IS the face of this franchise even though we’re approaching 7 years since his passing.
One of Al’s more controversial moves — and there were many — was the trading of Jon Gruden to Tampa in 2002 in exchange for two number one and number two draft picks. Now 16 years later, Gruden is back where his star was first realized as an NFL head coach.
As if it isn’t surreal enough for Gruden, who 20 years since his first being hired is back in the same office he inhabited before, Al Davis is still omnipresent, as Gruden detailed in a feature for Sports Illustrated.