FAMILIAR BOSS BACK IN TOWN
Carolina’s Rivera wields the ax
The Oakland Raiders welcome back coach Jon Gruden to lead their team after a 16-year absence.
ALAMEDA, Calif. — Jon Gruden finally decided the time was right to finish what he nearly achieved in his first stint in Oakland and deliver another Super Bowl title to the Raiders.
Nearly 16 years after he was traded to Tampa Bay following a crushing loss in the “Tuck Rule” game in New England and after a six-year courtship by Raiders owner Mark Davis, Gruden is officially back in Oakland where he started his head coaching career 20 years ago.
Gruden was introduced Tuesday in front of a large crowd that included nearly 50 former Raiders and nine Pro Football Hall of Famers as the coach Davis believes can carry Derek Carr and the Raiders back to the top.
The Raiders nearly got there in Gruden’s first stint from 1998-2001 but the team lost to Baltimore in the 2000 AFC title game and followed that with the memorable loss in the snow against the Patriots that still haunts the franchise.
Gruden was then traded to Tampa Bay the following month for four draft picks and $8 million. He beat Oakland in the Super Bowl the next season but always identified with the Raiders.
“For my career to end that night in New England, it still ticks me off,” Gruden said. “I’m so thrilled to be back here. I hope people understand the emotion inside. I feel there’s unfinished business. I also feel a lot of loyalty and I feel a lot of responsibility to get the Raiders going again. It’s been a while since we consistently performed at a high level. That’s all I care about.”
Davis said he had been trying to bring Gruden back for six years ever since taking over the franchise following his father’s death. He said he thought he had been close four times before and the opportunity was finally right this year after more than a dozen cross-country recruiting trips to Florida.
Davis said he first got an inkling Gruden might be ready to return when he met with him during the season when the Raiders spent a week in Florida to talk about how to fix a team that was struggling after winning 12 games a year ago under Jack Del Rio.
Gruden will get a 10-year contract worth about $100 million, a person familiar with the deal said.
PANTHERS: Coach Ron Rivera fired longtime offensive coordinator Mike Shula on Tuesday, saying the team’s offense needs a “different perspective.”
Along with Shula, the Panthers also cut ties with QBs coach Ken Dorsey two days after a playoff loss to the New Orleans Saints.
SABAN: The flirtatious relationship between Nick Saban and the New York Giants may be back in the “exchanging longing glances” phase, but a source told Newsday that Saban will not be the Giants’ next coach.
“No way,” the source said.
Saban was a candidate for the NYG job in 1997 when the team hired Jim Fassel, in 2004 when the team hired Tom Coughlin, and Saban reportedly expressed interest in the position in 2016 right before the Giants hired Ben McAdoo.
Saban, 66, finished his 11th season at Alabama on Monday night with his sixth national title.
CHIEFS: Kansas City promoted running backs coach Eric Bieniemy to offensive coordinator, filling the job that Matt Nagy left open when he was hired as the head coach of the Chicago Bears.
RAVENS: Baltimore coach John Harbaugh promoted linebackers coach Don Martindale to defensive coordinator. CHARGERS: LA is retaining defensive coordinator Gus Bradley and offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt.