Tom Shaw made it less than one season as the strength and conditioning coach of the Oakland Raiders before the team elected to release him from his duties last week.
According to Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle, Raiders head coach Jon Gruden wouldn’t elaborate on the reasons for Shaw’s firing outside of calling the issue a “personal matter.”
“That’s a personal matter,” Gruden said. “I’ll just leave it at that. Tom’s a good friend, really good at what he does. It’s a personal matter and unfortunately, we’re going to have to go in a different direction, and that’s something we’re going to have to do when the season’s over.”
The Raiders currently have 19 players on either injured reserve or physically unable to perform lists. However, that’s unlikely to be the only reason to dismiss a strength coach after one season, particularly one Gruden has a friendship and history with. Shaw had worked with the New Orelans Saints and New England Patriots in the past and was running a training center in Orlando, Fla. before joining the Raiders.
Gruden’s son, Deuce, is one of four assistants along with D’Anthony Batiste, Kelsey Martinez and Rick Slate.