Gruden returns, questions remain
Scott Ostler: Hiring makes some sense; contract terms may be a different story
Seven burning questions to ponder as we await Tuesday’s coronation of the first coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, Jon Gruden:
1 Is this hire one of panic or desperation?
Maybe a little of each. Folks around the league are laughing — OK, some are crying — about the contract Raiders owner Mark Davis gave Gruden. It’s not a contract; it’s an inheritance. Ten years and $100 million for a cute TV guy who, when he coached football a decade ago, demonstrated that he can win with good players and lose with bad ones?
The 10-by-10 deal, probably fully guaranteed, blows up the salary scale for NFL coaches, and Davis’
fellow team owners must be livid. It seemed recklessly desperate when 49ers boss Jed York gave new coach Kyle Shanahan (and new general manager John Lynch) a sixyear contract, fully guaranteed, with no offset. Now that seems conservative.
News of Gruden’s contract must have caused Shanahan’s agent to spit coffee all over the teak dashboard of his Bentley.
Was this hiring a product of the move to Vegas?
Davis and his sales force soon will begin shaking down Raiders fans to buy tickets and seat licenses in the new stadium/casino in Vegas.
I’m no expert on Las Vegas or ticket sales, but not even the giddiest bumpkin tourist would buy tickets to watch Siegfried & Roy do tricks with trained gerbils. You have to have a dramatic show, and if the Raiders stayed with former head coach Jack Del Rio, their motto for 2018 would have been “Just Tread Water, Baby.”
Davis is betting that Gruden will be the Raiders’ Jerry Tarkanian. Tark could charm a rattlesnake, and Gruden has a gift for connecting with media and fans.
Remember, though, that while Tark was a lovable and funny character, his UNLV basketball Runnin’ Rebels were wildly successful and entertaining. Gruden can tapdance and sing show tunes on the sideline, and that won’t sell tickets unless the Rumblin’ Raiders are kicking butt and taking names.
Was Gruden the only coaching candidate Mark Davis considered?
I have reason to believe Davis reached out to Jim Harbaugh. Maybe more than once. Davis clearly was looking for a coach to put sizzle into the Raiders’ offense, and that’s Harbaugh’s specialty. Plus, hiring Harbaugh would have been a nanner-nanner-nanner goat to the 49ers.
However, Harbaugh feels he has unfinished business at Michigan. Davis, through the Raiders’ PR office, declined to reply to my queries on this, and the U of Michigan sports information office told me Harbaugh was unavailable to respond. After Michigan’s loss in the Outback Bowl, Harbaugh was asked whether he was considering NFL openings. He replied, “No.”
Does Gruden believe in Derek Carr?
The answer would seem to be a clear yes. Gruden’s NFL glory was achieved with the help of a great quarterback, Rich Gannon (short-term greatness, but still). Gruden apparently believes he’s the guy who can rekindle the spark of greatness that Carr showed in 2016, then lost in ’17.
Or! Maybe Gruden plans to trade Carr and draft one of the hot college prospects — USC’s Sam Darnold, UCLA’s Josh Rosen or Louisville’s intriguing Lamar Jackson.
Most likely, Carr is Gruden’s guy, the perfect fixer-upper project to demonstrate Gruden’s magic touch.
Will Gannon join Gruden’s staff ?
Gannon thinks he fooled us all with his dismissive response to queries. He said there might be a chance he and Gruden would reunite, but they haven’t had time “to really sit down and have a really lengthy conversation.”
Come on. These two are practically twin brothers. I’m guessing Gruden and Gannon already have had that lengthy conversation, and that it went something like this: Gruden: “You in?” Gannon: (Nod) Can Gruden be a true impact coach?
Odds are against it. Those people are very rare. In Bay Area pro sports over the past four decades, there have been only a few major-impact coaches/managers, guys who made an instant and dramatic difference.
Bill Walsh is the most obvious example. Steve Kerr is in this discussion. Harbaugh. For a short term, maybe Billy Martin. One thing all had in common: Outstanding talent to shape and inspire.
Gruden is no crazy reach as a coaching hire. Everybody loves Chucky. The contract terms might be crazy, but hiring Gruden isn’t.
True greatness? That’s a whole ’nother level.
Will Gruden and Davis get haircuts together?
They’ll get a two-for-one deal in Vegas, at Supercuts for Croupiers.
Come on. We’re trying to have a serious football discussion here. Let’s just say that Davis and Gruden both believe in the Big Bangs Theory.