TAKEAWAYS FROM JOHN GRUDEN’S RE-INTRODUCTORY NEWS CONFERENCE AS RAIDERS COACH
Jon Gruden finally was introduced Tuesday as head coach of the Oakland Raiders. Chucky took questions for half an hour from about 100 assembled reporters.
The top 10 newsiest takeaways:
1 WHY NOW? WHY THE RAIDERS?
Practically every year since the Tampa Bay Buccaneers fired him from his second NFL headcoaching job in 2008, and he became a TV analyst with ESPN on Monday Night
Football, Gruden has been listed as a desired candidate for some plum NFL or college head-coaching job. Or jobs. Some years the rumours seemed legit, but Gruden always would come out eventually and announce he’s happy to be out of coaching. ESPN invariably would then reward him with another raise.
So why now, and why with this team, has Gruden decided after 10 years away from coaching to dive back in, at age 54?
“I just, in my heart, feel this is the thing I want to do,” he said. “This is the organization that I want to be a part of, and I’m all in. I only live one time. This is something I feel deeply, strongly about and I’m going to do everything I can to hire a great coaching staff and put the Raiders back on track.
“Mark and I have been friends for a long time … Mark came to me a couple of weeks ago and asked me if I had any intentions of coaching. And with the support of my family I said, ‘Yes I do.’ It’s a mysterious way that it all came together, but here I am.”
2 HE STILL HAS THE PASSION TO COACH:
“The reality is I haven’t changed much at all since 1998,” Gruden said. “I really haven’t. I’m not a real deep philosophical person. I’ve always loved football, I’ve wanted to come back, I prepared to come back. I’m ready to roll. I’m just ready to go. I’m at a point in my life where I need another challenge. I know I have a lot to prove, and I’m eager to prove that I can do it.
“My wife and kids can attest to that … My schedule hasn’t changed at all (out of football). It really hasn’t.”
3 CHANGES, SHMANGES
Gruden hasn’t coached in the NFL since being fired by the Bucs in 2008, six years after leading them to a Super Bowl championship. As he himself listed Tuesday, so many things have changed in pro coaching. From the practising scale-backs and other safety initiated reforms, to rules, to player maturity, to offensive and defensive evolution — you name it, it’s changed.
“I’ve paid very close attention to it. I have a lot to prove, there’s no question. I have not won a game since 2008. I haven’t lost any either.
“I don’t know what my reputation is. There are some great video clips of me swearing, and me screaming at players. I was also the biggest cheerleader in the league. I get excited when we make a play, when we make a first down. I really get excited when we win, but I get really upset when we don’t. I hope that still has a place in the NFL.”
4 HIS MONSTER CONTRACT
Neither Gruden nor principal owner Mark Davis would confirm the coach’s reported gargantuan contract terms of $100 million over $10 years, guaranteed. That’s not a surprise. Nobody ever confirms contract amounts at news conferences.
But the duo did shed some insights.
“I don’t have a guarantee to be alive for 10 years, just so people know,” Gruden said. “Mark has told me that (I’m) not getting ownership (percentage) of the team, so I’m happy to report that today. But I don’t really know the terms. All I know is that this year I’m going to be coaching in Oakland, and next year I’m going to be coaching in Oakland.”
5 HIS THOUGHTS ON QB DEREK CARR
Gruden gushed, as he’s prone to do over any talented thrower.
“He has great arm talent, he’s athletic, he’s got natural leadership skills, he’s young, he’s in his prime, he’s healthy now. He’s been in a number of different systems … There’s not been a lot of continuity that way. I think he’s got a huge upside.
“The system we’re going to put in place is going to demand a lot from him, and I think that’s what’s going to unlock the greatness in him. But I’m very, very excited to have him as our quarterback.”
6 HE’LL CALL OFFENSIVE PLAYS
You better believe it. “My intentions are calling the plays, yes,” Gruden said. “That’s what I’ve done for the last 14 years of my career. I like being with the quarterbacks, I like calling the plays.
“I’ve been thinking of a lot of plays. And when I met Derek Carr this morning I thought of a few more, just so you know.”
7 COACHING STAFF
Gruden confirmed that he has hired three coordinators: Greg Olson (Los Angeles Rams QBs coach) for offence, Paul Gunther for defence (from the same job in Cincinnati) and Rick Bisaccia for special teams (from the same job in Dallas).
The Raiders also are set to hire David Lippincott from Cincinnati as linebackers coach, per Alex Marvez of SportingNews.com.
“There’s a real trick when you become head coach. You can’t just go get the guys you want, because they’re under contract … I have always tried to keep a close group of friends, and people that I have a high respect for, on red alert. Just in case an opportunity did arise.”
8 HE’S NEVER MET MARSHAWN LYNCH
In all the times Lynch’s teams (Buffalo, Seattle and Oakland) played on Monday
Night Football, he never made himself available at ESPN production meetings to be introduced to Gruden.
9 UNFINISHED BUSINESS
One of the news conference’s themes was “Unfinished Business.” Gruden said that’s exactly right.
“I feel a lot of responsibility to get the Raiders going again. It’s been a while since we’ve consistently performed at a high level … I’m going to do everything I can to help this team get right again.”