Jon Gruden: Love of football brought him back to Raiders

ALAMEDA - The Oakland Raiders recaptured their past and present in one move Tuesday afternoon. They rehired Jon Gruden as head coach after a hiatus of 16 years.

On an overhead projector in the team’s weightlifting facility, the Raiders showed footage of their past - 34-year-old Gruden. Showed him pacing on the Raiders sideline, giving speeches in the Raiders locker room, yelling at Raiders players, scowling at the camera, eyes bugging out of his head. Vintage Chucky.

Underneath the overhead images, in real life, sat the Raiders’ current and future head coach - 54-year-old Gruden. Still scowling. Eyes still bugging out of his head. Hair thinner than 20 years ago.

“This is very emotional for me,” Gruden said. “I never wanted to leave the Raiders. I never felt I’d be back, but here I am.

“There are four major reasons I’m here coaching today. I love football. I love the players that play it. I love the preparation. I love the journey. Love football.

“And I love the city of Oakland. I had a son here, some of my great memories in life were in Oakland and I want to give them two of the best years of football that I can possibly help deliver.

“And I love the Raiders. The brand is global. Everywhere I went as a Monday Night Football analyst, the Raider Nation would come out. I love the Raiders.

“Most of all, I love to win. I’m going to do everything I can. No guarantees, no promises, but I want to win.”

Last week, Gruden signed a reported 10-year, $100 million contract with the Raiders, and on Tuesday they introduced him to the media. Even some of Gruden’s former players, including Rich Gannon, Tim Brown, Jerry Rice and Charles Woodson, came to the press conference to welcome Gruden back.

Gruden sat at a table between general manager Reggie McKenzie and team owner Mark Davis.

“Mark and I have been friends a long time,” Gruden said. “Over the last six or seven years, we have talked about the Raiders - not necessarily about becoming the coach, but maybe ways that we could improve the Raiders, my vision of how I thought I could help them.

“Mark came to me a few weeks ago and asked me if I had any intentions of coaching. With the support of my family, I said, ‘Yes, I do.’”

Davis said he first offered the coaching job to Gruden six years ago, “right after (McKenzie) was signed.” Since then, Davis has offered Gruden the job three times.

“My frequent flyer miles between San Francisco and Tampa, did that (trip) maybe 15 times,” Davis said. “I have a laundromat there where I do my laundry.”

Gruden lives in Tampa.

“Everybody knows that I’ve been infatuated to get him here,” Davis said. “But they really didn’t know how deep our conversations were going and how far along we were to make it happen.”

Gruden became seriously interested in the job this season as the Raiders underperformed. They won only six games. The previous season - 2016 - they won 12 games and made the playoffs.

Would Davis have hired Gruden and fired Jack Del Rio had 2017 gone well?

“Off the top of my head, probably yes,” Davis said.

The job was Gruden’s whenever he wanted it.

But he didn’t want it for a long time. The past nine years, Gruden was a television announcer for Monday Night Football.

“I’ve gotten to see every facility in the league,” Gruden said. “I’ve had a chance to watch practices, see how they conduct training camps. I’ve had a chance to learn some things and see some things that I would have never gotten to see as a coach.

“Had a chance to study different offenses, different defenses. I’ve had a chance to get into personnel more. I think I’m more big-picture now than I was in the past, but I still want to be very detailed in terms of how we play offense. I still want to be very involved in how we move the football. But I’ve had some opportunities that are unique and beneficial as a broadcaster.

“I have a lot to prove - there’s no question. I have not coached since 2008. I haven’t won a game since 2008. I haven’t lost any, either.”

Gruden’s record in 11 seasons as an NFL head coach is 95-81. His first four seasons as a head coach were with the Raiders from 1998 to 2001. His record was 38-26.

After back-to-back postseason appearances, the Raiders’ late owner, Al Davis, traded Gruden to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2002 for two first-round picks and two second-round picks.

During his first season with the Buccaneers, Gruden beat the Raiders in the Super Bowl 48-21.

Gruden’s record after the Super Bowl was 45-51, and he never won another playoff game. The Buccaneers fired him in 2009.

“His departure (from the Raiders) was premature,” said Woodson, the former Raiders cornerback.

“We had a pretty special team here. You see all the guys that are back that played under Gruden at some point. We’re all back because we don’t know what could have been. We had a really good thing going. We had brought in a lot of good players. We exited the playoffs, we all felt, prematurely that year.

“Then, all of a sudden in the offseason, he was gone. How did that happen? I know the fans, the guys that were on that team, we wished we could know what could have happened way back when.

“Of course, you don’t get to go back in time. But you can take another shot at it.”

Hiring Gruden is a return to the glory days and maybe a preview of glory days to come.