The 1st & 10 at 10 crew on Orange and Blue 760 caught up with Raiders Head Coach, Jon Gruden, who is coaching down at the Senior Bowl this week.
Throughout the interview, it was clear Gruden has tremendous respect for Atwater and what he accomplished as a Pro, even when he was teasing him a bit about the Raiders rivalry.
As the conversation wound down, host Ryan Edwards asked if Gruden would like to see Atwater make into the Hall of Fame, now that he’s a finalist. Here was Gruden’s response: “If the voters really know football, Atwater’s in there. I mean look at him, he still could play. He and Dennis Smith were the most feared safety combination that I can remember playing together and I hope to see them both in Canton.”
Darnit, Jon Gruden! You’re the Raiders’ Head Coach, I am duty bound to dislike you, but this was a classy move by a rival.
He also praised the Broncos recent hire of Vic Fangio and Ed Donatell, calling Donatell a “really well kept secret”. Gruden said having them coaching the defense together will be good for Denver and bad for the Raiders.
Check out the interview above.