Gruden hopes to ‘Wake up the Raiders’
Intense coach returns to establish a new culture wrapped in accountability
NAPA, Calif. – Jon Gruden might be older, wiser and more polished this time. • Yet it was apparent as the retro coach of the Raiders geared up for the arrival of the bulk of his veterans on Thursday to ignite his first training camp back that some things have not changed a bit. • Gruden, 54, is still the boisterous “Coach Chucky” who revived the Raiders during his first stint from 1998 to 2001, still full of the bluster that makes you pay attention. And still dripping with passion. • “If I can’t get it done, I’m not going to take their money,” Gruden, whose return was stamped with a 10-year, $100 million contract that is the richest for a coach in NFL history, told USA TODAY. • Leave it to Gruden to provide the ultimate clip-and-save statement that underscores his mission and confidence.
That’s why he was such a hit during nine years in the “Monday Night Football” booth. He has quite the way with words. His presence will be perfect for the team’s eventual move to glitzy Las Vegas.
Ask about the pressure of his new challenge and, typically, Gruden scoffs.
“You either feel the pressure or you don’t,” he said this week as he sat behind a bank of video monitors in the makeshift camp office that doubles as his living quarters. “That’s the way it is. Pressure was succeeding a guy like Tony Dungy. Pressure was working for Al Davis at 34. … The reality is that we’ve got to wake up the Raiders, man. It’s exciting. It’s crazy.”
But Gruden knows hyperbole won’t get it done. It’s about substance.
The Raiders were 6-10 last season, and in the 15 years since Gruden toppled Oakland in Super Bowl XXXVII as Tampa Bay’s coach, the franchise has had one winning season — and 10 head coaches. Like last time, Gruden is charged to establish a new culture wrapped in accountability.
“Man, they change in this league like they change shirts,” Gruden said, dismissing the long-term security that comes with his contract. “So there’s an urgency. I try to tell them, ‘What are we doing? Let’s get it right. Are you guys all in with me?’ ”
Last time, Gruden was joined at the hip by Rich Gannon, who blossomed from journeyman quarterback to a meticulous NFL MVP. Now he’s rolling with Derek Carr, a fifth-year pro who to this point has bought in without a hitch.
“I’ve never seen a head coach instill the type of confidence in everybody in the building as he has,” Carr said. “He encourages everybody but commands respect at the same time. If you do something bad, it feels like you let your dad down.”
Carr maintains his connection with Gruden is bolstered by similar work ethic and philosophies, all of which will surely be put to the test in the heat of competition. At the moment, it seems smooth with Gruden positioned as perhaps the perfect tutor to take a young quarterback’s game to a championship level.
Gannon, meanwhile, suddenly has a revived presence, too. He will join the Raiders’ radio team as an analyst.
“He’ll be ripping my ass, probably,” Gruden grumbles of Gannon.
Gruden knew from the time he left coaching that he would return. The itch never left, and over several years as his agent, Bob LaMonte, fielded interest from teams, Gruden waited for the right time and situation. Now he even questions what took him so long.
“It was like standing at the edge of the pool,” he said. “Are you ready to jump in?”
Raiders owner Mark Davis targeted a Gruden return for years, evidenced by the record contract and apparent skirting of the Rooney Rule that requires NFL teams to interview at least one minority candidate for head coach vacancies.
Gruden insists his return was clinched last December, when the Bucs inducted him into their Ring of Honor and the emotion of reconnecting with former players pushed him over the edge. That’s striking in its own way. Gruden admits that he still carries the sting of getting fired by the Bucs after a 9-7 finish in 2008.
“I was crushed,” Gruden reflected. “It just goes to show you it’s a tough business. We were 9-3. One week, you’re feeling on top of the world. Then you lose four straight and you’re out of the league. Yeah, there’s some bitterness. … I’m not bitter at the Glazers (the family that owns the Bucs). I’m just eager to get back to work.”
Gruden is hardly the first coach jolted by the reality of not going out on his own terms, yet the uniqueness of his case comes with the full-circle effect with the Raiders. Al Davis, the late owner, traded his young coach to the Bucs in 2002, the culmination of their internal clash.
Mark Davis has said he would probably have never parted ways with Gruden … and now he has him back in the fold for a do over at a time when the once-signature franchise needs a serious boost.
“I’m going to try to outwork the Gruden that was here in ’98 and ’99,” he declares.
That’s quite a standard. Gruden landed his first NFL job in 1990 as a quality control assistant with the 49ers under then-offensive coordinator Mike Holmgren.
“Ray Rhodes said, ‘What are you, Gru-Dog? It sounds like you’re a robot or something,’ ” Gruden reflected of an exchange with the defensive backs coach under whom he would later serve as offensive coordinator during Rhodes’ stint as Eagles coach.
Yeah, Gruden was something of an entry-level robot. He drew up plays in the computer for Holmgren. He worked on the scout team. He cut up videotape. A former college quarterback, he was the target for pass-rush drills. Hall of Fame safety Ronnie Lott recalled this week that it was Gruden who threw the passes to the defensive backs in practice. In short, he did some of everything.
Now there’s still some of that grunt role in Gruden, who delegates only so much. Although he has an offensive coordinator in Greg Olsen, Gruden will run the offense. And he’ll coach the quarterbacks. And he’ll do his own grunt work, which includes maniacal work with videotape.
Never mind the big contract and the status. Gruden is still a grunt, too.
“That’s been a part of what I do,” he said. “If you’re going to call the plays, you’d better coach the quarterbacks. If you’re going to coach the quarterbacks, then you probably ought to draw the cards for the service squads. You ought to install the plays with the team, too.”
Yes, Gruden will do it his way. That includes the manner of stocking his roster. In his previous head coaching roles, he had the reputation of favoring veterans over young players. Now, with a slew of veteran acquisitions, including linebacker Derrick Johnson, receiver Jordy Nelson and running back Doug Martin, he’ll open camp with 14 players in their 30s.
He seems a bit sensitive to the criticism about the pattern.
“Some of these people in the media wouldn’t go after LeBron James in free agency,” he grumbles. “Look, I want good players. ... I think some of these veterans can show some of these young guys how it looks.”
He insists he’s open to featuring young talent, too, reminding that he once had a rookie of the year at Tampa Bay in running back Cadillac Williams, and enthusiastically touts his first draft class. The Raiders went heavy in the trenches in the draft, starting with firstround UCLA tackle Kolton Miller to underscore the priority of supporting Carr. And Gruden is already so bullish on defensive tackle Maurice Hurst (who slid to the fifth round amid questions about his heart condition), he thinks he might have the steal of the draft … and an inside rusher to evoke comparisons with Warren Sapp.
Can the Raiders turn this around in a hurry?
“If coaching doesn’t screw it up, we’ve got a chance,” Gruden said.
Asked if he’ll be disappointed if his team doesn’t make the playoffs in his first year back, he paused.
“I’m not going to make any predictions,” he said. “But of course I’ll be disappointed. Who wouldn’t be? Let’s see what happens. We haven’t had one practice yet. We haven’t put the pads on. All I’ve been doing is running around blocking garbage cans.”
And raising the expectations for a Raiders revival.