Jon Gruden has wasted zero time since becoming the Oakland Raiders coach, and he already sent boisterous punter Marquette King home.
Gruden is known for his no-nonsense approach to football and old school mentality. It’s what has made him a star on and off of the field. Well, that was clearly bad news for King, who got reportedly cut for personality differences with Gruden.
Pro Football Talk reported the following:
King is a solid punter who had a career-best 42.7-yard net average last season, and he still had three years left on his contract.
But new Raiders coach Jon Gruden apparently didn’t like King.
Veteran Raiders reporters Bill Williamson and Vic Tafur both reported that Gruden was the one who made the call to send King packing, and that Gruden had personality issues with King.
Players get cut all the time in the NFL. As they say, NFL stands for “not for long.” However, it’s pretty rare to see a guy get cut over his personality. Most of the time teams just put up with the antics of players, especially in the era of social media. Coaches and executives just kind of learn to accept that some of their players are going to have loud personalities. King fits well in that category.
Gruden not wanting any part of that circus is more than understandable. He’s been entrusted with bringing the Raiders to Vegas and winning. There’s not enough time in the world for him to be focused on the antics of a punter.
It’d obviously be different if King was a superstar quarterback, but he’s a punter. It’s just the way the league is. There’s a threshold for how much will be tolerated, and it varies greatly by position and skill.
Gruden is sending a message, and I’m here for every second of it. The Raiders haven’t even played a game yet with Gruden, and it’s still exciting. Let’s roll!
