Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia is expected to replace former Bucs coach Jon Gruden as interim head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, according to multiple reports.
While nothing has been officially announced by the team, the anticipated promotion of Bisaccia was reported by ESPN and the Las Vegas Review-Journal. It was later confirmed by NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport, citing a source.
Gruden announced his resignation Monday. It came as a major New York Times report accused him of sending racist, homophobic and misogynistic emails years ago when he was an ESPN commentator — before the Raiders hired him. The newspaper says one of Gruden's old emails asked Bruce Allen, ex-president of the Washington Football Team, to tell Bryan Glazer — whose family owns the Bucs — to give him oral sex.
The old emails were revealed during a workplace misconduct probe of the Washington Football Team.
"I love the Raiders and do not want to be a distraction," Gruden wrote in a statement Monday. "Thank you to all the players, coaches, staff, and fans of Raider Nation. I'm sorry, I never meant to hurt anyone."
If reports are correct and Bisaccia is, in fact, who the Raiders promote, it would be a natural progression for a seasoned staffer. Bisaccia has been coaching football for 38 years, 11 of which were with Gruden. They worked together in Tampa from 2002 to 2008.
Nineteen of Bisaccia's NFL seasons were as a special teams coordinator. Beyond the Bucs and Raiders, he held that title with the Cowboys and Chargers.
