Jon Gruden gives odd answer when asked about Raiders’ victory lap after beating Chiefs
On the first day of Raiders Week, the talk was focused on ... a bus driver.
That’s a new one, but Chiefs coach Andy Reid was asked at a news conference Monday about the report of the Raiders doing a victory lap in team buses around Arrowhead Stadium following their 40-32 victory in October.
“Well, listen,” Reid said, “they won the game, so they can do anything they want to do if they end up winning the game. That’s not our style, but we’ll get ourselves back, ready to play, and that’s where we’re at.”
Hours later, Raiders coach Jon Gruden was asked if he had any thoughts about Reid’s comment on the alleged victory lap.
“Not really,” Gruden said. “You can find a smart aleck bus driver in Kansas City who made some snide comments when we got on the bus. Maybe that’s why we drove around the stadium was to tick him off. This is ridiculous. Next question.”
Here is the video of Gruden from KSHB-TV’s Nick Jacobs:
To quote the late Ben Bradlee, that’s a non-denial denial. Unfamiliar with that term? It’s from “All The President’s Men,” the movie of the Washington Post unearthing the Watergate cover-up.
Bradlee, the executive editor at the time, was played by Jason Robards, who used it when someone didn’t exactly deny the accuracy of a story.
You’ll note, Gruden never did deny the Raiders’ buses took a circuitous route out of the Truman Sports Complex. Instead he said it was done to stick it to a “smart aleck” bus driver (or you could say Gruden threw the driver under the bus).
The only person who can settle this is the bus driver. But like Deep Throat (another Watergate reference), that person may remain anonymous.
The bus controversy wasn’t the only entertaining moment from Gruden’s news conference on Monday. He was asked about facing the Chiefs after their bye week. It’s the fourth time in five seasons, the Chiefs will play the Raiders after their bye, and Las Vegas fans were not happy when the schedule was announced.
“I’m sure that’s just a coincidence, I’m sure it’s a coincidence,” Gruden said with a smirk. “I don’t think about it. You know, the schedule is the schedule. You’ve got to adapt to it. And that’s what we’ll do.”
This story was originally published November 17, 2020 at 8:14 AM.
