The Oakland Raiders on Tuesday officially introduced Jon Gruden as their new head coach at a unique press conference in Alameda, California.
Media and former players (some Hall of Famers among them) gathered at the team facility to witness the return of Gruden to the Silver and Black after spending nine years in the broadcast booth with ESPN.
Gruden pointed out in his opening statement that “Brady fumbled that ball,” and later admitted having unfinished business in Oakland as he was traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2002 after the infamous “Tuck Rule” game in 2001.
“For my career [as a Raider] to end on that night in New England, it still ticks me off.”
Gruden also said that being back in Oakland was very emotional for him because he never wanted to leave, and he never thought that he would be back, but now that he is he’s ready to go to work.
Gruden made no promises and no guarantees, but he did say he loves to win, will do everything that he can, and looks forward to working with general manager Reggie McKenzie.
“I am going to do everything I can to hire a great coaching staff and put the Raiders back on track.”
As to why he returned now and why to the Raiders despite having several offers through the years, Gruden said that this time in his heart it felt like “the thing to do.”
“This is what I want to do. This is the organization that I want to be a part of and I am all in.”
Gruden said that the timing is right as he wants to finish his career as an Oakland Raider.
Raiders owner Mark Davis called the hiring of Gruden “a dream come true” and described the moment as a “big f’n deal.”
Davis confessed that he has felt for six years that Gruden was the person he wanted to lead his team and to finally have him in Oakland made it the biggest day of his life.
He said that the hiring fulfills a vision he had on his first days as owner of the team after his father, and former owner, Al Davis passed away.
“My vision at that time was Jon Gruden to coach this football team, and Reggie McKenzie to bring in the talent,” said Davis.
Davis admitted it took him six years of chasing Gruden to make that vision a reality but to finally have Gruden to be the leader of the organization has him excited and is going to be phenomenal.
The Raiders reportedly signed Gruden to a 10-year, $100-million contract but the new head coach revealed that the deal didn’t include a stake on the ownership of the team as earlier reported by some media outlets.
The contract, however, does include a no-trade clause as Gruden confessed to Raider Alumni and Hall of Famer Charles Woodson, who stood to ask his former coach the question.
In his previous stint with the Raiders (1998-2001) Gruden went 38-26. He also coached the Bucs for seven seasons where he had a 57-55 record, four winning seasons, and made the playoffs three times. That includes a trip to Super Bowl XXXVII, in which he defeated the very same Raiders team that traded him.
