London’s Calling Jon Gruden, and he is not happy about it.
Gruden will make his first international trip as a head coach to England when the 1-4 Raiders face the Seahawks on Sunday at Wembley Stadium.
“I hope I can make it, honestly. I’m not great [traveling],” Gruden said, according to the Bay Area affiliate of NBC Sports. “I get claustrophobic. My son [Deuce] was a weightlifter and he won a powerlifting competition in Belarus. I had to fly 14 hours. I had to fly home 14 hours.
“I had vertigo for a month. I couldn’t even lay down, the house was spinning. I am hoping I don’t get vertigo. I’m not a great traveler. I’ll be honest with you, I hate it. I’m not good. I’m concerned. I’m more worried about that than our goal-line offense right now.”
Gruden believes his team will be ready to face the Seahawks overseas on Sunday, despite leaving a day after their opponent. Facing a 10-hour time difference, Seattle is departing for the UK on Wednesday. By leaving Thursday evening, Gruden’s crew will have two walkthrough practices prior to game day.
“Did a lot of research on it, obviously — people have done it, people that have made that cross-country trip from California,” Gruden said of Oakland’s travel plans for Thursday,
“I don’t know much about it. We’re just doing the best thing we think for our players. Get the proper preparation here, then go to London, get them the proper rest, time acclimation. Then get ready to play on Sunday.”


