The Oakland Raiders are starting fresh with new head coach Jon Gruden and his vision for the franchise in his second stint with the team. Although the return of Gruden and the moves he's made since come back to Oakland have been praised by some, there's also been a fair share of criticism, especially from the recently fired Rod Woodson.
The former cornerbacks coach didn't hold back in his criticism of the franchise's decision to hire Gruden and make a few drastic changes in the process. Naturally, as a former employee that was recently fired by the team, Woodson's comments come off as bitter and were bound to ruffle some feathers in Oakland with linebacker Bruce Irvin being the first to fire back.
Lol I can honestly say I’ve never seen a coach get fired and then go on national tv and bash the players he coached and went to war with week in and week out. Shows your true colors. Makes me wonder did you really give us your all?! Ken norton would never do some shit like that
— Bruce Irvin (@BIrvin_WVU11) March 23, 2018
The veteran linebacker has never had a problem speaking his mind, and clearly, Woodson's comments struck a nerve. Irvin didn't stop there as he tweeted the following a few minutes later.
He use to be one of the first coaches sprinting out the building after work lol don’t get me started on yo ass
— Bruce Irvin (@BIrvin_WVU11) March 23, 2018
At this point, there's no telling whether the new regime under Gruden will turn out to be the right move for the storied franchise. Gruden had a lot of success in his first stint with the team and intends to turn back the clock as he wants to bring an old-school-style of football back to Oakland.
Irvin is one of the few big-name veterans to remain with the team after Gruden began making moves to mold his new-look roster. The defense has been a problem for the Raiders over the past few years, but Gruden and company will try to right ship with the team having high expectations moving forward.