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The Oakland Raiders are now going into their second year with Jon Gruden at the helm, and while many have criticized Gruden's decision-making process thus far, Raiders linebacker Tahir Whitehead has confidence in his head coach:
“I think Gruden understands what needs to be done,” Whitehead said, via the Raiders' official Twitter account. “He's taken every course of action, along with Mike Mayock too, to get back on the right track. With all of the roster moves that have been made and bringing in the veteran guys that are leadership, great guys. Great young players to move the culture forward and move and get back to the winning days. He knows what it takes, he's a hard worker, he's smart.”
Gruden's first season in Oakland involved a couple of huge trades, as he sent star pass rusher Khalil Mack to the Chicago Bears and wide receiver Amari Cooper to the Dallas Cowboys.
But this offseason, Gruden has done his best to recoup some of what he lost, making moves for players like Antonio Brown, Trent Brown and Lamarcus Joyner to shore up both sides of the ball.
Whitehead, who signed with the Raiders in March 2018, is coming off of a 2018 campaign in which he played all 16 games and racked up 126 tackles, an interception, a forced fumble and five passes defended.
The 29-year-old, who played his collegiate football at Temple University, was originally selected by the Detroit Lions in the fifth round (138th pick overall) of the 2012 NFL Draft.
He spent the first six years of his career with the Lions.
