Oakland Raiders head coach Jon Gruden could only look on and watch as the Sean Payton and the New Orleans Saints watched their Super Bowl hopes slip out of their reach. Unfortunately, the Saints lost the game in a way many would consider unfair as the officials clearly missed a blatant pass interference call that would've put New Orleans in great position to win.
According to Matt Scheidman of East Bay Times, Gruden called Payton after this past Sunday's game and wanted to empathize with him after the crushing loss. Gruden knows the caliber of coach that Payton is, but even Gruden knows that dealing with a situation like that is not easy.
“That’s one of the reasons Sean and I talked. What do you say to your team? It’s tough. If you lose a game like that, it’s tough. It’s tough to lose period. Somebody had to lose unfortunately. Just a shame to come down to that.”
Gruden kept the details between Payton and himself. It's pretty clear that a phone call like that suggests Gruden completely agrees that the Saints were victims of a game-changing no call this past Sunday.
“I’m not gonna get into what we talked about. Sean and I worked together a long time ago. I was involved in a game, in a playoff game, that ended in quite dramatic fashion and so has he now. He and I will have a couple hot dogs and a couple glasses of Coke here and talk about things in the future, I’m sure.”
Gruden didn't sugarcoat anything and knows the consequences of the situation thanks to the infamous “Tuck Rule” game. Gruden knows that this will stick with Payton for years to come, but Payton has a fantastic team at his disposal.
“You don’t ever get over that. It’s the last time that team will ever be together. It’ll never be the same. Those guys fought as long and hard as they could and it’ll sting forever.”
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