Jon Gruden had simple advice for Mike Mayock on the draft: “Don’t mess it up, dude”

[Rusher]

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The guy who runs the Raiders has some advice for the guy who runs a draft that ultimately will be run by the guy who runs the Raiders.

“Don’t mess it up, dude,” Raiders coach Jon Gruden told Raiders G.M. Mike Mayock (probably with a word other than “mess”), according to Mayock. “I took a lot of slings to get you three first-round picks.”

The quote encapsulates Gruden’s habit since returning to the Raiders of acting like he’s not running the show when, in reality, he is. And Mayock previously has admitted that, even if Gruden won’t.

“In all honesty, Jon’s got final say, if it ever comes to that, and I’ve got zero problems with that,” Mayock said not long after taking the job in January.

So, basically, if Mayock messes it up, he will have messed it up because Gruden will have messed it up. But it won’t be Gruden’s fault, because everything that has gone wrong for the Raiders in the last year isn’t his fault.

Gruden can either be mad that we’re calling it like it is, or he can stop shifting blame to others for decisions that ultimately trace to him. That, like every other decision with the Raiders, is up to him.