Jon Gruden on Oakland Raiders job: 'I hope I'm a candidate'

Jon Gruden is expected to become the next coach of the Oakland Raiders, but he was playing coy on Tuesday.

Gruden is the hot name for the job after Jack Del Rio was fired but he was playing his cards tight to the vest during an interview with the Bay Area News Group.

"My understanding is they're interviewing candidates this week," Gruden told the media outlet, "and they're going to let everybody know sometime early next week or whenever they make their decision."

Gruden was then asked if he was indeed a candidate.

"Well, I think I am being considered, yes," Gruden said. "I hope I'm a candidate."

The Raiders fired Del Rio after four consecutive losses to complete a 6-10 record. Del Rio went 12-4 with the Raiders in 2016, ending a 14-year playoff drought, and signed a contract extension prior to the 2017 season.

There is speculation that the Raiders plan to hire Gruden but are delaying the process so they can meet the requirements of the Rooney Rule by interviewing a minority candidate. Del Rio is represented by the same agent who represents Gruden, Bob Lamonte.

Reports have the Raiders ready to give Gruden an annual salary of more than $10 million and an ownership stake in the team from Mark Davis, who has agreed to relocate the franchise to Las Vegas after stadium bids failed in the Bay Area. The Raiders are scheduled to move to Las Vegas as soon as the 2019 season.

Gruden also has reportedly been putting together a coaching staff that would include former NFL player Rich Gannon as quarterbacks coach. Gannon was quarterback of the Raiders during Gruden's first stint with the team from 1998-2001.

Gruden compiled a 38-26 record in his first stint with the Raiders. Overall, he has a 95-81 mark in 11 NFL seasons and won a Super Bowl title with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers following the 2002 season.

If a stake in the team was included, the structure of any offer to Gruden would require approval by all 32 league owners.

Last offseason, Gruden acknowledged talking to Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay, but said the conversation was not focused on a coaching job. Chuck Pagano, who remained the coach this season before being let go Monday, was under contract at the time.

Gruden, currently an ESPN analyst, was rumored to be near accepting a deal to coach the Buccaneers last week. However, the Buccaneers instead decided Dirk Koetter would return in 2018.

--Field Level Media