Raiders coach Jon Gruden talks Marshawn Lynch, new kicker, more at NFL combine

INDIANAPOLIS — Jon Gruden made his triumphant return to the epicenter of the NFL world when he strut into the Indiana Convention Center Wednesday morning, flanked by team staffers, cameras and anyone hoping for a glimpse at his return to the NFL Combine.

Gruden spoke at Podium 1 for about 15 minutes with a substantial crowd beneath him, then entertained local beat writers for another 15 minutes in the room over.

Here are some of the most notable things he touched on:

On Marshawn Lynch: 'Looking at the film in a game that I broadcasted, there's no question he's still a beast that's hard to bring down. One of the reasons I'm excited to be with the Raiders is to join forces with Lynch, but we'll see what happens. Obviously we've got to take a look at the entire roster, but I'm counting on him. I'm counting on him being a big part of our football team.'

On restrictions to offseason player-coach interactions: 'It's a lot different because you're not allowed to have any interaction with the players. I've always complained about that since the new CBA came in place. A lot of players would come to see me in Tampa to get their football fix. So you're not allowed to have contact with these guys, but what's most discouraging to me is we've gotta make some decisions on our roster, on salaries, on players and their futures and you can't even meet 'em. I don't know these guys. I've never coached 'em. I've never met half of 'em. That's been very, very difficult for me and I've been emotional about it at times.'

On Amari Cooper's progress: 'We think Cooper's gonna be a great player . He had a lot of injuries last year and that impacted him, but he'll be the focal point of our pass offense. I hope he's listening here today. I look forward to joining up with Amari Cooper. He's got tremendous quickness. I think he's smart, he's versatile, he's a gamer, he likes the bright lights and he'll be the headliner in our offense.'

Why Derek Carr struggled in 2017: 'I thought Derek did some good things, honestly. He's got tremendous arm talent. He didn't play to the level he played two years ago for a lot of reasons. He got hurt in the Denver game, hurt his back. I think that impacted the way he practiced. I think that impacted the way he played. We had a new feature back, new offensive coordinator, struggled I think on the right side of our offensive line at times. Amari Cooper got hurt. Crabtree was suspended. All those things add up. I'll say this, he's a lot of fun to be around.'

On the importance of fullbacks: 'I would like to have a fullback. They're a dying breed in football. I think it does give your running game a lot of deception. If Marshawn Lynch is the feature back, I think it would be nice if we serviced him with a fullback . And you need a blocking tight end if you're gonna slam the ball with a beast. Those are two things that I'm looking for.'

On potential changes to defensive pass interference and catch rules: 'I got a lot of thoughts, but I don't know if I wanna get involved. I'm not on the committee. The catch needs to be cleaned up and interference - should it be challengeable? If it's a 51-yard penalty, can I challenge that? (Change would make DPI a 15-yard penalty instead of a spot foul) That was my argument when I was coaching. I bet the NFL's glad to have me back because i'll be raising hell about all these issues. I've got enough problems, so I don't have to worry about the catch or DPI right now. I've gotta find some players to help us win.'

On Raiders' backup quarterbacks: 'I'm kind of surprised that Connor hadn't played in two years, other than the playoff game. He got in as rookie late in the year after McGloin got hurt. It was out of necessity, but after Derek got hurt last year they turned the ball to EJ. I don't know where Connor Cook is. I'm frustrated right now I can't spend any time with him, but April 9 will be an exciting day for me and Connor Cook, let me tell you. I like EJ Manuel, honestly. I had him as well. I think EJ's a young, talented guy. He's been in the facility down there, working out on his own every day. There's a bright upside to him, too, as a young quarterback to keep working with. He's a free agent, but Philadelphia Eagles proved that's a pretty damn important position, isn't it?'

On hiring former Raiders head coach Tom cable to coach offensive line: 'Well I like Cable because I spent a lot of time studying Seattle, I spent time up at their training camp, I know what he is on the field. This guy's a good line coach, a really good coach. All you have to do is watch the beginning of practice and watch him when he has some individual time with his group. They were a really good unit in Seattle for a couple years . I think he's an excellent coach. He's diverse. He can run the ball a lot of different ways, he's good in pass protection, he's a great teacher, he has a passion for the game and he's been a 'Rayyydah.' He's been a 'Rayyydah' like me.'

On Giorgio Tavecchio/moving on from Sebastian Janikowski:

'We're counting on Giorgio. The only difficult thing about having a left-footed kicker is you've gotta find a left-footed kicker, I think, to compete against him because if you bring in a right-footed kicker to compete against a left-footed kicker, it really messes up your holder and your holder is a big part of the operation . We want competition at every position, but we like Tavecchio. Janikowski was a first-round pick when I was here. If it was up to me, I'd bring him back. I think we're gonna move on for obvious reasons. Tavecchio's probably a little bit better right now kicking off and if i know Janikowski like I used to, we couldn't afford him in a million years.'

On Raiders' recent draft struggles: 'We need some talent to rise within this organization, I'll say that. In our last three drafts - I'm looking at it - other than Amari Cooper, we need some of these young players to really explode on the scene. It starts there. We need some young people in the organization right now to emerge.'

On analytics: 'I like analytics (smirks). I know a lot of guys, veteran coaches, who have hired analytical staffs and bought a lot of really cool equipment. I also know a lot of coaches that have this information and data and don't know what to do with the data. Look, I like it. I was always looking for new technology. Then I realized, you know what, I don't want new technology. I want better technology. We don't need new players. We're looking for guys that can help us get better. I think that's the key. If you're gonna have the analytics, what are you doing with the data?'