By Art Spander
For Maven Sports
OAKLAND, Calif. — Fans booed the Raiders late in the game Sunday. So? Fans in Foxboro booed the Patriots, and the Pats have been the best team in the NFL for a decade.
Copyright 2019, The Maven
By Art Spander
For Maven Sports
OAKLAND — This Sunday, the first after the end of daylight savings time, with the weather beautiful and the sun low, was a bittersweet reminder of what will be missed.
Copyright 2019, The Maven
By Art Spander
OAKLAND, Calif. — Yes, Antonio Brown was listed as a starting wide receiver on the lineup card for the Raiders' opening preseason game Saturday night. No, he didn’t start. He didn’t play. He wasn’t even at the Coliseum.
But these are the Raiders, for one last bittersweet season the Oakland Raiders, so issues and controversy never are far away — although when the team moves next season to Las Vegas, it will be plenty far away.
Yet that’s the future. Maybe so is Brown, the guy who wanted to be free of the Pittsburgh Steelers and came in trade during the off-season to the Raiders.
He brings a great ability to catch touchdown passes and, with his style (injuring his feet in a cryogenic chamber) and stubbornness (refusing to use the new helmet ordered by the NFL), a special independence.
After the Raiders' 14-3 win over the Los Angeles Rams in a quite normal first game of any season, especially one that doesn’t count except for the players trying to make the team, second-year coach Jon Gruden took a stand for Brown — hardly a surprise because he was very much in favor of the move to acquire him.
“I support this guy,” Gruden said of Brown. “I don’t care what anybody thinks. The foot injury wasn’t his fault.”
The story is Brown went to Europe for cryogenic treatment, in which a part of the body is subjected to temperatures far below zero for a short amount of time. But Brown wore flip-flops on his feet instead of shoes and incurred frostbite.
“It was a total accident,” Gruden explained. “A serious injury. People are smirking at it. He’s hurt. He hasn’t done anything wrong. And the helmet thing is a personal matter.”
Brown, 31, has worn the same type of helmet for 10 years and reportedly wants to continue, even threatening to quit instead of changing to a newer model endorsed by the league.
He had a two-hour conference call with an independent arbitrator Friday to point out why, according to ESPN, he should be allowed to keep the original helmet. Brown said the new helmet restricted his vision, and according to ESPN's Adam Schefter, he has filed a grievance with the league.
“It’s a personal matter,” said Gruden. “He has a strong feeling what he should wear on his head, and we support him. We understand the league’s position as well, so we’re in a tough spot.
“We hope he’ll be back here soon, because he’s exciting to be around. He’s one of the premier competitors I’ve ever been around.”
Before Gruden returned to coach in 2018, he was the analyst on ESPN’s Monday Night Football, studying players from every team.
“He loves to play so much,” Gruden said, exaggerating a trifle, “he’d play with no helmet. Whatever his decision, we’ll stand by it. We have confidence he’s going to be a huge factor for the Raiders in years to come.”
The factors for either team Saturday, in what amounted to an exhibition game, were not those that would be apparent in September, when the regular season gets underway. Neither Jared Goff, who led the Rams to the Super Bowl, or the Raiders’ Derek Carr played a single down at quarterback.
Mike Glennon, who started, and Nathan Peterman were the Raiders' quarterbacks, Glennon completing 17 of 25 for 200 yards and Peterman 9 of 12 for 66 yards and a touchdown. Peterman also had Oakland’s longest run when he scrambled for 50 yards.
“I though both quarterbacks in their opening possessions had beautiful touchdown drives,” said Gruden. ‘That’s what we want. We want quarterbacks to take control of the game and get us on schedule. You take the opening drive 80 yards and score.
“Credit to both those guys. Mike had two interceptions. The one in the red zone can’t happen. He got fooled on the other one. I thought Glennon did some good things in the pocket. Nathan showed his athleticism. He can run. As he continues to gain command, he’s going to be interesting to watch.”
So, presumably, will Antonio Brown, if he ever gets on the field.
OAKLAND, Calif.—Never mind the glass is half-full optimism, the ifs and the might-haves. The Oakland Raiders are not a very good football team. And that’s the reason they couldn’t beat a team that is very good, Kansas City, even thought the Chiefs on Sunday were playing their first game without running back Kareem Hunt, cut for attacking a woman.
Whether the Chiefs were affected by the incident, caught on videotape, or by the loss of Hunt, is uncertain. But for sure they have enough quality players, including young quarterback Patrick Mahomes, to overcome the situation—which is always the case of winning teams. Maybe the Raiders, who were 2-9 entering the game and two touchdown underdogs, were courageous. Maybe the Raiders showed resilience after their own mistakes, fumbles and penalties, seemingly gave them no chance. Maybe head coach Jon Gruden said, “We are playing good football.”
But this season at least they are not on the same level as Chiefs. In the end, despite the loud support from a Coliseum crowd listed at 55,255; despite one of Derek Carr’s better games (passing for 285 yards and three touchdowns) the Chiefs were, 40-33, winners.
KC is 10-2, leading the AFC. It makes plays when needed, as opposed to the Raiders, who in this one made mistakes when they weren’t needed, losing three fumbles and early on being called for a holding penalty which negated a first down and forced a punt.
“Three fumbles and a fourth and one conversion call,” said Gruden. “Against the Kansas City Chiefs that’s going to be tough to overcome.”
No impossible to overcome, especially when you add a 22-yard first quarter punt by Johnny Townsend.
Mahomes, who is having a brilliant season, and tight end Travis Kelce, hurt the Raiders. “Travis and Patrick (Mahomes) made some incredible plays. They must live together or something. Give credit to those guys. You can’t do anything sometimes but tip your cap.”
Carr did something. With the Raiders in the hole from the start he helped them climb back.
“And that brings the Raiders to within 10 points,” public address announcer Gary Williams shouted to the crowd after a Carr to Jared Cook touchdown pass made it 26-16 in the third period. Exciting but not fulfilling.
Possibility evolved into disappointment.
“Somebody said earlier,” Gruden offered, “we haven’t fumbled the ball all year. They (the Raiders) are making good runs. I think one was on first and 10, the other on second and two and another after a long run. Sometimes when you’re in traffic you have to put the ball away.”
Gruden made a smart move in the closing minute, something those decades earlier John Madden did against the Steelers in a playoff—trailing by 10, kicking a field goal rather than trying for a touchdown and then a field goal. But the Raiders couldn’t come up with the ball on the onside kick with 28 seconds to play.
“We had them backed up,” said Gruden, “and thought we could kick and cover. (Daniel) Carlson made a great onside kick. Maybe it didn’t go the exact 10 yards, but it was hell of a kick.”
That quote sort of reflected the Raider performance. They didn’t go the full distance, but they played a hell of a game. Then again, the NFL gets down to wins and losses, and the Raiders in 2018 have far too many losses.
The stats were decent, 442 net yards compared to 469 for KC. The result was not. Mahomes was one reason (23 of 38 for 295 yards and four TDs). The turnovers were another reason.
“Mahomes made a third and 15 play that was right on my sideline,” said Gruden. “I was so outside of myself I was upset. He made so many plays today. I was proud of our quarterback too. It was a shootout of two great young quarterbacks.”
The other, Carr, said, “There was no doubt we were going to win. But give credit to the Chiefs. They are really good.”
And at this moment in time the Raiders are not.
ALAMEDA, Calif.—The coach and the quarterback had words. “I don’t have a ‘No yelling’ sign on the sideline,” said Jon Gruden. So he yelled at Derek Carr, and Derek Carr yelled back.
“We get excited down there,” said the Raiders coach. In full view of the stands and television cameras.
Great theater. “To be or not to be.” Not that kind of theater; not Shakespeare. More the Rockne kind. The Lombardi kind. Improv while the defense tries to improve.
“What the hell is going on out here?” bellows Vince Lombardi on an old NFL Films segment,
What was going on with the Oakland Raiders was an attempt Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals to win a game; it was successful, 23-21, on a last-second field goal.
Some 24 hours after only his second victory in 10 games, Gruden, seated behind a desk at Raiders Central, was asked, “Is it a different Monday after a win?” His answer was personal and professional. “It’s been a tough year,” he said.
A year of injuries. A year of on field mistakes. A year many of us decided was reflected in a coach and his QB jawing on the sideline, even if that’s common in the NFL, whether Bill Walsh with Joe Montana or Bill Belichick with Tom Brady.
“I’m a big cheerleader sometimes,” Gruden explained. “I’m very positive a lot of the time. Every once in a while you have to make your points in some different ways. Sometimes raising your voice. I look ridiculous to some people, but I want urgency . . . I want to get things right.
“I doesn’t mean I’m always right either. Derek pointed that out to me Sunday.”
Football is a collaboration of calls, skills and fortunes. “Marshawn Lynch was here and running really well for us and then Marshawn went away,” was Gruden cut-to-the-chase phrasing of the injury that forced a change in the running game. “Doug Martin has been doing good things; Jalen Richard might be the MVP of our team.”
Richard rushed 11 times for 61 yards and caught three passes for 32 yards. Carr completed 19 of 32 overall for 192 yards and two touchdowns. Whatever he and Gruden argued about may not have had much effect on the end result.
“I think cameras can catch things that maybe look a little bit peculiar,” said Gruden, who, of course, before rejoining the Raiders this season was an analyst for ESPN for nine years.
Peculiar could be the word for the Raiders’ season, for anyone who hesitates to use awful or disagreeable.
Everything went south when Khalil Mack went east to the Chicago Bears. (What a game he had against the Vikings on Sunday night). There are numerous other reasons for going 2-8, mainly injuries to the offensive line, but the Mack trade seemed to trigger all misery.
“These guys have played great,” said Gruden about a team he said has not come apart—which is a reflection of both players and coach.
“These guys played hard Sunday. I’m really proud of the effort. I know we’re not where we want to be, but the attitude and the effort and the camaraderie is a big part of establishing a program. For that I’m really proud.”
The negative, as far as Oakland is concerned, is when the program is established the Raiders will be in Las Vegas.
Gruden was asked what a lone victory can do for a team that, along with San Francisco and Arizona shares worst record in the NFL
“We’ve had a lot of good practices,” said Gruden. “Guys have been putting forth a tremendous effort. They’ve been preparing hard. Winning is a great motivator. It’s a great cure. It builds momentum.
“We’re missing a lot of players. Our injury list is unfortunate. Look at Drew Brees. I don’t know how many receivers have come and gone through New Orleans. Derek Carr has done well. That’s what every great quarterback has to do in this league.
“Aaron Rodgers is going through it. Tom Brady has gone through it. That’s what comes with being a C.E.O.quarterback, and (Carr) has handled it extremely well. And that’s a credit to him.”
As is handling the sideline disputes with Gruden.
OAKLAND, Calif.—This wasn’t in the script for Jon Gruden. He was supposed to return to Oakland, and with his smile and style, make his team wow us on the field as he did for years in the ESPN booth.
Did you hear or read anything negative when he took the head coaching job last winter?
Things have not gone well at all. In fact they’ve gone terribly. The Raiders are 1-6 after their, 42-38, defeat by the Indianapolis Colts at the Coliseum on Sunday and nit-picking fills the room, which is understandable.
Another TV broadcaster who also was a Raider coach John Madden, would tell us “Winning is a great deodorant.” But when you don’t win the odor, real or imagined, is very prevalent.
The smallest items grow enormously, in proportion to the losses.
First there was trade before the season of arguably Oakland’s best player, defensive end Khalil Mack. Then last week, the Raiders saw off another star, Amari Cooper, the receiver. After that the story, or rumor, quarterback Derek Carr had lost the respect of the team.
If the Raiders were any good, that stuff would be trivial. But they’re not any good. So the trivial becomes monumental, and the head coach and the quarterback become the focus. And controversial.
“I don’t know where the controversy is coming from,” said Gruden, whose defense against the media was probably a bit more effective than his team’s against the Colts. Indy rolled up 461 yards, compared to Oakland’s 347.
“The reality is we made a trade,” said Gruden alluding to the deal that sent Cooper, the receiver, to Dallas for a first-round draft pick. “I don’t think it hurt the offense, and I hope Amari Cooper does great. We need to address this roster, and we’re doing the best we can, but I’m not going to keep talking about the critics because we’ve got to get better in a lot of areas.”
Indeed. Carr played maybe his best game of the year—was it in response to the knocks and questions?—but the defense, as almost every game, was a disaster. The first quarter, the Colts got the ball and kept it and kept it, 14 minutes 4 seconds out of the total 15.
“I know it gets ugly at times,” said Gruden, “but in a lot of ways I’m excited about the future.”
It was George Allen coaching the Washington Redskins who insisted, “The future is now.” True, you need plan for the coming seasons, but with the Raiders moving to Las Vegas in two years it’s doubtful the fans in Oakland—and they awoke for a few loud sessions Sunday—are concerned with 2020 and beyond.
To the Raiders credit, after trailing 10-0 almost instantly, they worked their way to a 28-21 third quarter lead. But there’s that problem with the defense, especially against a quarterback named Andrew Luck, the overall No. 1 pick, out of Stanford, in the 2011draft. He was 22 of 31 for 339 yards and three touchdowns.
And there were those agonizing mistakes, rookie punter Johnny Townsend kicking one only 25 yards in the fourth quarter, with the score tied 28-28, and running back Doug Martin, subbing for the injured Marshawn Lynch, losing a fumble the first scrimmage play after the Colts went in front, 35-28.
That’s what happens to bad teams and the reason they are bad teams.
Carr, throwing for three touchdowns and sneaking a yard for a fourth, was asked if he had been particularly motivated because of the stories about him during the week.
“No,” said Carr, “I’m the same every day. “I had to answer some funny questions this week, but I know you guys have to do your jobs. It’s nothing personal. It I’m being honest, as a human, it’s hard.
“There was nothing that was different in my mindset. I’m already a pretty fiery guy . . . My goodness, enough is enough. The best part of my day Wednesday, media day, was to get back on the field and play football. “
He was back again Sunday, doing well enough, but the Raiders also were back losing again.
“It’s tough,” said Jon Gruden. Tougher than anyone believed it would be.
By Art Spander
ALAMEDA, Calif. — His regrets? “I’ve got a list of things,” Jon Gruden told us Tuesday. And, he suggested, so do the rest of us, because none of is perfect.
But the rest of us are not the head coach of an NFL team with a 1-5 record. The rest of do not have a multi-million-dollar contract as that coach has.
With rare exceptions — Bill Walsh leaving, George Seifert being elevated — winning teams do not change coaches. Gruden may have arrived in a swirl of fame and anticipation, but the head coach is only as good as his players.
And it has become obvious that many of the players on the Oakland Raiders are not very good. Especially on defense, where games are won — or, mostly, lost.
If, apropos of nothing but pertinent to everything, you choose to believe one of the reasons for the Raiders’ mess was the absurd trading of Khalil Mack, who not only was their best defensive player but arguably their best player, you are permitted that belief.
Does Gruden regret that transaction? Does Gruden regret returning to the Raiders after a departure some 20 years earlier? If anyone did chance to ask him either question, especially on leaving ESPN to rejoin the Raiders— and none of us has the temerity to do so at this juncture — he wouldn’t respond candidly. And who would blame him?
So instead, the questions deal with injuries (the Raiders have many, but so do other NFL teams). With Derek Carr’s quarterbacking. With opponents (did anyone doubt the Seattle Seahawks still have a solid team?). And with the bye the Raiders have this weekend.
Gruden still has that sly look we’ve come to know over the years, on the sideline, in the TV booth. He hasn’t become disagreeable as, say, Pat Shurmur of the New York Giants has.
In the better old days, the late 1990s and early 2000s, Gruden was known for his work ethic. He came to the office early (really early, as in 3:30 or 4 a.m.) and stayed late. Presumably he still keeps long hours — although at age 55 are they as long as they were at 35? — and he still keeps his enthusiasm.
He wanted this job. At least the job offer, with the huge salary, with the opportunity to follow his muse, was one he couldn’t refuse. What he didn’t want was a roster that seems to be spending days in the training room, a roster of older players being replaced by younger — if inexperienced — new ones.
That trip to and from London for a game at Wembley Stadium is one against jet lag as well as an opponent. Gruden on Sunday in the locker room said he enjoyed the journey. “Unfortunately,” he added, “I’ll always remember it in a bad way.”
There haven’t been too many good memories this return season. That game against the Seahawks wasn’t even entertaining, Oakland down 27-0 until mercifully kicking a field goal midway through the fourth quarter to lose, 27-3.
The London Daily Telegraph headline described the Raiders as “limp,” and the story promised that the next NFL game at Wembley, on Oct. 21 between the Tennessee Titans and San Diego Chargers, “looks likely to be more competitive.”
Hard to say if the Raiders next game, on Oct. 28 against the Indianapolis Colts at Oakland, will be, but it couldn’t be any worse than the most recent.
“We’re trying” said Gruden. “We’re working hard. I’m not going to never throw the ball on first-and-goal again. All my friends in the league do it. I don’t really think it’s living dangerously, either. When it’s intercepted and it’s ugly like it was, it’s going to be magnified.”
That was the previous week against the Chargers, in San Diego. He took a chance, but that’s what coaches are supposed to when they know down deep their team is not as good as the other one.
“You just have to continue to go with your gut feeling,” said Gruden. “Go with your preparation. Be true to your gut. That’s what I’m going to continue to do. There are going to be some mistakes, and I’ll take responsibility for all of them.”
Change is coming. “We’re still looking at the roster,” said Gruden. “We’re looking around the league to find means to get better. Reggie (McKenzie, the general manager) and I had a long meeting Monday. I know that’s a shock to some people. They don’t think we have any meetings. I’m telling you, we’re working hard to solidify this roster every day and improve ourselves and get the right people on the field ... We’re going to stay on the gas pedal and go as hard as we can.”
And hope the road doesn’t run into a mountain.
ALAMEDA, Calif.-Monday, Monday. A song from the 1960s A day on which Jon Gruden would give us his take from the ESPN booth. He analyzed; he chuckled. He had the best of all possible worlds.
Now Gruden has returned to coaching, coming back to the Oakland Raiders. Now, at this Monday, there are no chuckles. Now there are only losses and heartache.
"I really haven't thought about much," was his comment, when asked about giving up a home game so the Raiders on Sunday could play in London. "Obviously I'm a little depressed today."
It's hard to think of Gruden as depressed. He was always so upbeat, so buoyant, so eager to make everyone watching him or listening to him appreciate the nuances of football, to grasp what separates one player from another, one team from another.
But the Raiders, Jon Gruden's Raiders, are 1-4, and have a game overseas against the Seattle Seahawks, who may be 2-3 but played well against the unbeaten Rams-or at least better than the Raiders did against the Chargers.
You can sympathize with Gruden, whose quarterback seems to be regressing and whose former best defensive player is on the Chicago Bears. Or you can shrug and point out no one forced Jon to leave his happy ESPN home. All this pain, this little depression, is self-inflicted.
Gruden understands where he is, even if he doesn't quite understand how he got there. Derek Carr throwing an interception on first and goal from the Chargers one? What, are you crazy?
The Raiders trailed, 20-3, at the time (They would lose, 26-10). The play wasn't decisive. It was disheartening. It was what has happened to the Raiders, a mistake when they could not afford one.
When he was broadcasting, everything went right for Gruden. A slip-up, say calling the wrong first name, was correctable with an apology. But you can't apologize when the decision is to throw on first and yard and the ball is picked off-and you have Marshawn Lynch willing and able and showing disdain for the call by tearing off his helmet.
You only can try to explain, which on this Monday is what Gruden did.
"I don't want to see anybody get upset," said Gruden, certainly including himself. "I want everybody to be happy. It won't be the last pass I call on first and goal either. I think it's best to throw down there."
Uh, Jon, that Super Bowl, XLIX, when Seahawks coach Pete Carroll called a pass from the one, and it was intercepted by New England? Remember? Marshawn Lynch was ignored on that play too. Fortunately this wasn't quite as important.
"I regret it was intercepted," said a self-effacing Gruden. "Turns out to be a terrible call. But we were down 20-3. Melvin Ingram is their middle linebacker in a jam front, and I wanted to throw a play-action pass on the one-foot line. My opinion is it shouldn't have been intercepted."
OK. He still sounds like the ESPN analyst with that remark.
"We shouldn't do that," Gruden confirmed. "But we did. Lynch is frustrated. (Gruden) threw my visor and my headset. So I think we have a lot in common."
Throwing equipment is permitted. Throwing away a chance to score is not. Coaches as players are imperfect. If you listen to a coaching headset during a game, there is anger and obscenities. The situation seems chaotic. And there's no director back in the production truck offering advice.
Gruden was asked if five games into his return to coaching the job is taking a toll on him. The answer wasn't necessarily the whole truth and nothing but. Nobody's going to concede, "Hey, I shouldn't have taken the job," after only a few weeks.
"No, I just don't like to lose," was Gruden's response. "I think we have work to do. There's not enough time in the day to do it. I'm depressed. I'm tired. I want to win. I want to do better. We have to get back to work here."
What they really to do in Jon Gruden's first year back is have some success. It's a tough business Jon. But you knew that, didn't you?
ALAMEDA, Calif.—This is what Jon Gruden wanted. Well, not exactly. He didn’t want to lose the first two games on his return to coaching. He didn’t want to feel forced to trade away probably his best player, Khalil Mack. He wanted to be in charge of an NFL team once more, and so he is, with all the problems that brings.
Even Monday, another day after, another day to get peppered with the questions he used to ask—or at least hint at—Gruden indicated there were no regrets.
Coaches coach. Maybe John Madden secure in his well-earned reputation, not to mention the East Bay real estate holdings, was able to resist the call. But Dick Vermeil, Joe Gibbs and one of Gruden’s recent ESPN colleagues, Herman Edwards, stepped away from microphones and back into the line of fire.
Gruden was not naïve. He knew the drill. He knew the misfortunes. He knew he was a star on Monday nights with a salary equal to his status. But deep down he was and is a football coach, and that can bring as much pain as satisfaction.
A game the Oakland Raiders never trailed. Until the final 10 seconds. Until the only time that mattered. A game the Raiders lost on field goal, 20-19, because the Denver Broncos were able to move the ball from their own 20 to the Oakland 18 in a minute 48 seconds, allowing that 36-yard kick in the gut—uh, over the crossbar by Brandon McManus.
A game that perfectly set up questions about the defensive line and the lack of Mack, who might have made a difference on that drive. Might. Gruden knew that was coming. He understands the game and the business.
“I think we said after the game,” Gruden said to a packed media room at Raiders HQ, “we got to make improvements there. Across the board we got to make improvements.”
But he doesn’t have to second-guess himself, at least in a public forum, with cameras and microphones and oh so many digital recorders and note pads.
“No,” he answered about sending Mack away. “It doesn’t make me regret. We made the trade. We made the trade.”
Not so nice had had to say it twice, but he did.
“There has got to be hindsight. 50-50, all that stuff.”
To be sure without Mack, the pass rusher, the All-Pro, there was no stuff, the type that stops an offense where he tried to start.
“I would have loved to have had him,” said Gruden, quite forthright. “And I’m not going to keep rehashing this. I would have loved to have coached him, loved to have had him here. But he’s not here. Somebody’s got to step up.
“We got to keep building our football team, and that’s what we’re going to do. Hopefully, we see more from Arden Key, we see more from P.J. Hall when he gets healthy. Hopefully we prove that in the long term we did the right thing.”
Players win games. Derek Carr, criticized obliquely the previous game, against the Rams, for not being decisive, nearly won this one, setting a team completion percentage record. Amari Cooper, 10 receptions for 116 yards, nearly won this one. Marshawn Lynch, 65 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries, nearly won this one.
It’s hard to know whether Mack could have won this one, but the future draft picks the Raiders acquired didn’t do a thing. Indeed, that’s a gratuitous comment. The Raiders are what they are, which is an NFL team on the verge—of what no one can say, including the head coach.
Gruden was asked what he saw from the first two games--two losing games, one of them well played, that made him think the Raiders still could be a contender—although truth tell he never even implied that, much less said it directly.
“I’m not going to sit here and make predictions here today,” he said, sitting there. “I’m not going to do it. We’re going to keep building our football team. Whether that translates into one win or four wins or any wins . . . I’m not going to make any predictions about anything other than we’re going to play hard and provide the best effort we can.”
As he departed, Gruden walked through the door and into one more question. Did he wish he hadn’t left ESPN for what surrounded him?
“Not at all,” Gruden said. You sensed he very much meant it, and the heck with Khalil Mack.
ALAMEDA Calif.—You’re a Raiders fan—an Oakland Raiders fan—and you wonder what they’re going to do to you next? Your loyalty goes unrewarded. Your frustration is ignored.
The new coach, who used to be the old coach, said he came back because he had something to prove. Where’s he going to prove it, in Las Vegas?
The team isn’t very good, which can’t be blamed on the coach—except he was involved in trading the team’s best player, Khalil Mack, for draft picks, some of whom, it the timetable holds, will not be on team until it’s no longer in Oakland,.
The coach ought to know about giving up people who matter for potential. draftees. Nearly 20 years ago he was the guy who mattered, the coach of a Raiders team that was in the playoffs, that in a couple seasons would win a Super Bowl. But Jon Gruden had been swapped for draft picks who never did very much.
When Gruden arrived the first time, 1998, he was 35 and loving it. He cracked jokes, taunted the writers. He worked for Al Davis, yes, nerve-wracking. Still it was his first NFL head coaching assignment. This was what he always wanted, so how could he not handle everything with a smile?
Now he is 55. And famous, more so as commentator for ESPN—hey aren’t you the guy we saw on TV?—than for his coaching background. The Raiders were pounded by the Rams, 33-13, Monday, Gruden’s return game, and Tuesday Gruden was confronted by the media, for a second time in maybe 14 hours. There weren’t a lot of laughs.
Mack wouldn’t have made the Raiders a winner, although he would have made them more competitive. Defense wins. Everyone in football knows that. You don’t get rid of a once-in-a-decade pass rusher.
You know the line. It was given to Thomas Wolfe by an English writer, Ella Winter, and he was so enamored Wolfe used it as the title of his last novel,”You Can’t Go Home Again.” You can walk in the door of the old house years later, but nothing is quite same. Different viewpoints, different situations.
After he left as head coach of the 49ers, winning three Super Bowls, Bill Walsh returned to Stanford, where he had earned his reputation. But it didn’t quite work. He didn’t have the same enthusiasm and the student-athletes, as the label goes, were not the way he remembered. Society changes. Sports changes.
Gruden knows the game. He was less a commentator than an instructor and critic on those “John Gruden Quarterback Camp” segments, one of which dealt with a kid named Derek Carr, who the second half Monday night played less than favorably, throwing interceptions,
Still, it you’re always behind because the other team (i.e., Rams) is sharp on offense and you’re less than sharp on defense—or offense—the quarterback, in this case, Carr, is going to be heaving balls in desperation.
‘There were a few plays when unchacteristically (Carr) wasn’t at his best,” said Gruden. No quips. No double-entendre. No TV commentary. Just a cold, hard serious observation.
“Sometimes,” Gruden pointed out correctly, “you have to credit (Rams defensive coordinator) Wade Phillips.” As if Phillips didn’t receive all the credit possible as defensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos when they stiffed Carolina in Super Bowl 50 at Levi’s Stadium.
“They gave us multiple looks out there,” said Gruden of the Rams defense. “They have some talented people out there. It’s just disappointing. But I think knowing how good Derek is it can all be solved.”
Is that coach talking or the TV announcer?
Gruden knows his stuff. He also knows what his team lacks—a top pass rusher, like Khalil Mack. Funny you should mention that.
One thing that hasn’t changed in the 10 years since he left coaching and the 20 years or so since he first game with the Raiders is that defeat remains painful.
“It stinks,” he said candidly, “Losses all feel painful. Especially Monday night losses when you have to get up and get ready for a team like Denver.”
What do you think it is for Raider fans who have to get ready for losing their team in Oakland?
By Art Spander
ALAMEDA, Calif. — It was part Las Vegas, of course. Have to plan ahead. Part Hollywood. Part pronounced humility. Jon Gruden had arrived with all the flash and fame expected of, and for, a prodigal son who, with a reputation and recognition gained elsewhere, is ready to show us he can go home again.
What a production on Tuesday, at a facility the Oakland Raiders will flee in a couple of years for the Vegas strip. There in the huge barnlike building called the performance center, which in season is full of athletes pumping iron, we were awed by a video that must have reminded Gruden of his most recent employer, ESPN. Do they have an Emmy category for Team Hype?
Then, after introductory remarks by owner Mark Davis, gloating as if he were the one getting the $100 million and not paying it, out stepped the Savior, his own self, Gruden, telling us, “I’ve got something to prove.” Which he does. Which he doesn’t.
He’s a football coach now, again, at age 54, because — and you’ve heard this before — that’s what he feels the need to be. For the previous nine years, including through last Saturday night, he was an analyst/commentator for ESPN, in the broadcast booth, not down on the field.
That looked like the best job in sports, picking apart the game plan of others, for $7 million annually, rather than have others pick apart his. And he did have the satisfaction and glory of coaching a Super Bowl champion, the 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who obtained Gruden from these very same Raiders in a trade.
It wasn’t that he did a poor job at Oakland in the four seasons, 1998 to 2001, he was, well, not in charge, because it was Mark’s daddy, Al, who was the power in those days, but at least the head coach.
As the story goes, Al was somewhat pushed out of shape because Gruden, with his winning ways, charming personality and photogenic looks — hey, TV knows what sells — became the Face of the Franchise. Tsk, tsk. Off with his head, said the Red Queen, uh, or rather the silver-and-black knight.
After the ’01 season, the one climaxing for Oakland with the NFL snow job, i.e. the Tuck Rule, conveniently called after the New England Patriots lost a fumble to the Raiders in the playoffs.
“For my career to end that night in New England, it still ticks me off,” Gruden said. “I’m so thrilled to be back here. I hope people understand the emotion inside.
“I feel there’s unfinished business. I feel a lot of loyalty and responsibility to get the Raiders going again. It’s been a while since the team has consistently performed at a high level. I’m going to do everything I can to help this team get right again.”
Gruden’s first season in Tampa ended with a 48-21 win over Oakland in Super Bowl XXXVII, but he never won another playoff game in the next five seasons. Not that it matters, or maybe it matters greatly, but no coach — Lombardi, Parcells, none of them — has won a Super Bowl with two different teams.
“I haven’t changed all that much since 2008,” said Gruden. The game has changed, but Gruden, announcing, conducting that ESPN QB Camp, maybe knows more about the players and changes than he would have as a coach. He has been to every one of the league’s 32 training complexes. He has worked Derek Carr, the man who will be his Raiders quarterback.
And if Carr wasn’t on site Tuesday, numerous former Raider players were, including Mike Haynes, Tim Brown, Jerry Rice, Charles Woodson, and the QB Gruden beat in the Super Bowl, Rich Gannon. Remember how critics said Gruden knew what was coming because he knew the Raiders, his former team.
Woodson worked for ESPN this season, on field at halftime. He also is involved in a Napa winery carrying his name. In 1998, he was the first draft pick of a rookie coach named Gruden.
“All of us want to know,” said Woodson, whose playing career went from Oakland to Green Bay to Oakland, “is there a no-trade clause in your deal?”
Gruden laughed, “You’re going to make me want to go home, Charles.”
But this is home, isn’t it? “I’m glad to be back,” Gruden conceded. The Raiders, at $100 mill, are glad to have him back.