Gruden expected to help QB Carr
In his first season as head coach of the Raiders in 1998, Jon Gruden started three different quarterbacks. Donald Hollas and Jeff George were both 30 that year. Wade Wilson was 39.
The situation Gruden inherits this time is much different.
Gruden, who will be re-introduced as the Raiders’ head coach at a news conference Tuesday, takes hold of a team that already has an established quarterback in Derek Carr, who signed a five-year, $125 million deal before the 2016 season.
The Raiders reportedly offered Gruden a contract of 10 years and $100 million to bring him out of the broadcast booth. Their best hopes for a quick return on that investment likely lie in what they’re handing Gruden under center, at least according to one NFL analyst.
Gruden’s “a guy that they believe can come in and fix an offense that took a major step back” in 2017, former Raiders defensive lineman and Hall of Famer Howie Long said on Fox last weekend. “And here’s the key: They have a franchise quarterback in Derek Carr. (Gruden’s) a guy that can maximize the most out of him.”
Gruden’s previous coaching success mostly came with seasoned quarterbacks. Rich Gannon was 33 when he joined the Raiders in 1999 with a career record of 31-27. Under Gruden, Gannon made the Pro Bowl three straight seasons and reached the playoffs twice. Later in Tampa Bay, Gruden won a Super Bowl with 34-year-old Brad Johnson at quarterback and a division title in 2007 starting 37-year-old Jeff Garcia.
Carr, at 26, has made two Pro Bowls and tied for third in MVP voting in 2016. Carr also struggled this past season — record-
ing his lowest passer rating (86.4) since his rookie year — and will be adjusting to his fourth offensive staff in five seasons. (Greg Olson, Carr’s coordinator in 2014, is expected to rejoin the Raiders in that same role, but with Gruden installing and calling the plays.)
The dynamic between Gruden and Carr will be intriguing. Carr is optimistic and polite, possibly to a fault. After the Raiders lost their Dec. 31 season finale to finish 6-10, Carr said the team’s leaders need to be “more accountable” and “more demanding” going forward.
“I had to have a whole bunch of conversations that are uncomfortable,” Carr said, “but I had to have them.”
Gruden seems to have no problem with uncomfortable conversations. He and Carr appeared to click when Carr was a guest on Gruden’s “QB Camp” series on ESPN in 2014. But as Gannon said recently in a radio interview with 95.7 FM, playing for Gruden will be another matter.
“I think (Carr) has no idea what’s in store for him, just in terms of the level of preparation, the attention to detail,” Gannon said last week. “He’s going to be as prepared as any quarterback could possibly be to go out and really play championship-caliber football. But he has to do it.
“If he doesn’t want to come in and spend eight hours on Tuesday, his day off, then you can’t make him. If he’s not a guy that’s going to come in on Monday nights or stay late on Friday, then you get what you get. You’re going to get out of it what you put into it.
“We’re going to find out how tough this guy is, and how hard he’s willing to work to really take his game to the next level, but more importantly, to take the Raiders to the next level.”
As for the pieces around Carr, there is potential for flexibility. The Raiders have roughly $57 million committed to seven players next season, according to Spotrac — Carr, guard Gabe Jackson, left tackle Donald Penn, receivers Amari Cooper and Seth Roberts, safety Karl Joseph and cornerback Gareon Conley — amid other smaller contracts, and also hope to sign defensive end Khalil Mack to a lucrative extension this offseason.
Players such as Michael Crabtree, Marshawn Lynch, Bruce Irvin and Sean Smith, meanwhile, are not owed guaranteed money in 2018, meaning the Raiders could part with them without their contracts counting toward the salary cap. The Raiders also have several members of their defense entering free agency, including linebacker NaVorro Bowman and safety Reggie Nelson.
They’re commitments the Raiders will consider in the coming weeks, after unveiling a big one Tuesday.