Michael Lombardi says Jon Gruden must view Raiders ‘from 35,000 feet'

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Michael Lombardi knows Jon Gruden well. The former personnel executive and current Raiders head coach worked together in Philadelphia and again during Gruden’s first stint in Oakland.

Lombardi brings educated perspective to Gruden’s return to the Silver and Black as both head coach and someone with the final say on personnel. Controlling both jobs can be difficult, looking at a team up close and through a long lens.

There’s no doubting Gruden’s ability to game plan, prepare a team and call plays on game day. Navigating the personnel side, however, can be tricky.

That’s why Lombardi, a longtime NFL executive and GM who worked with the 49ers, Browns, Eagles, Patriots and Raiders (1998-07), says Gruden must have proper perspective and discipline to run the entire Raiders operation.

“If Jon wants to be the general manager of the team, he has to act differently,” Lombardi said in this week’s edition of the Raiders Insider Podcast. “He can’t just be the offensive coordinator. He can’t work on the scripts and game plan to a maximum degree. You have to spend time on the college draft and pro personnel and even defense and special teams.

“Looking at the team from 35,000 feet like a man with $100 million in the bank account and a 10-year contract, that’s what you have to do. His expertise is running the offense, and he’ll certainly do a good job with that. That’s his skill set. He can attack defenses, and is very good at that. I’m not telling him to give that up, but he has to take a broader approach to everything and understand that.”

For more from Michael Lombardi on Gruden, Reggie McKenzie, and the Gruden-Al Davis dynamic during their time together, check out the full Raiders Insider Podcast. 

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