Boy did Al Davis REALLY screw this one up. He might as well fire him now. Gruden agrees to five-year deal with Bucs The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have landed the high-profile coach they were looking for, but it's not Steve Mariucci. Oakland Raiders head coach Jon Gruden has agreed to a five-year contract with the Buccaneers, ESPN.com's Len Pasquarelli and John Clayton reported Monday. A Wednesday news conference is scheduled to formally announce the news. Mariucci, who reportedly met with the Bucs on Sunday, will remain head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. Gruden had informed the Raiders that he would not return to Oakland once his five-year contract expires after the 2002 season. Gruden, the youngest head coach in the NFL at 38, is in the lower half of the NFL coaching pay scale, with an annual salary of $1.2 million. Gruden's ties to Florida are well-documented. Gruden's parents live in Tampa. His father, Jim, is a regional scout for the San Francisco 49ers and formerly served as an assistant coach under John McKay with the Buccaneers. His brother, Jay, plays and coaches with the Orlando Predators in the Arena Football League. Quarterback Rich Gannon credited Gruden and his staff with returning the Raiders to prominence. Oakland was 4-12 in 1997, the year before Gruden took over. Gruden has a 38-26 record in four years -- 2-2 in the playoffs -- with the Raiders. "I think he's the best coach in football right now," Gannon said. "If I didn't believe that, I wouldn't come back." Gruden had indicated he may be ready for a change. "I'll play out the last year of a five-year contract and we'll see what happens," he had said. "Right now I'm in here working. I'm not going to publicly talk about my contract and what I want personally. I'm part of the Oakland Raiders. I realize speculation is part of the game, but I signed a long-term deal. I don't know what is going to be in store in the years to come." One of Gruden's major attributes has been his ability to get the team focused despite off-field distractions, which included speculation he was ready to leave during the season for Notre Dame. He also turned down an offer from Ohio State last year. "Since Jon has gotten here, he's instilled a never-quit attitude," linebacker Greg Biekert said. "You've got to give the coaches a lot of credit for getting guys prepared."
Tampa will be giving up A LOT to get Gruden. Wouldn't surprise me to see Sapp and 4 picks (1st-4th rounders) headed to Oakland for Gruden - Davis wanted that much.
Oops! I thought Tampa signed him for 2003 but now it says for 2002 so I guess the Raiders will be getting something in return.
Just goes to show you what a joke Al Davis is. The man was incredibly lucky enough to have 2 of the best coaches today run his team in Shanahan and Gruden. The b*stard still owes Shanahan money and now his cheapskate ways has cost him possibly the best coach in the game. moestavern19, Mr.Scary, and other Raider fans here: all of you have to admit that Davis is a problem and that your team will be in such better overall shape once he finally leaves. Unfortunately, it looks like, at least to me, that Davis will only leave the Raiders when he dies.
<B>What, get rid of a horribly underachieving coach???</B> No, working behind the back of the GM and misleading coaching candidates.
Hey hey hey.....this sounds like someone.....hmmm let me think.......oh YEA! J-KRAUSE FROM CHI-TOWN! He'll probably not leave even after he dies, dude'll be back to haunt the place. As for the Tampa Bay topic, nah I don't think they deserved such a good coach.
I thought Davis came waaaaaaay down on his asking price after the Mariucci discussions becamse serious. I wouldn't be suprised at a pick or two, but I would be flabbergasted if its Sapp.
Who did they mislead? Did they tell one person they had the job, then not give it to them? I haven't heard of that. If anything, they were mislead by Parcells. As for going behind the GMs back, who cares? It's their team. They want who they want, and they deserve that after putting up with three years of horribly underachieving football. Good for them, they got a great coach.
Not as steep as Sapp but still not cheap at all: 2 first rounders, 2 second rounders was the compensation paid to get Gruden. The details of the pics are first- and second-round draft picks in 2002, a first-round pick in 2003, and a second-round pick in 2004.
<B>Who did they mislead? Did they tell one person they had the job, then not give it to them? I haven't heard of that. If anything, they were mislead by Parcells. </B> I don't know if they told anyone they had the job, because I wasn't at any of the conversations, and they weren't taped. However, when multiple coaches and the GM say this, I tend to believe them. <B>As for going behind the GMs back, who cares? It's their team. </B> Interesting. I bet the GM cares. He was hired to do a job that he's not being allowed to do. The players seemed to care since they were pissed that the whole hiring process had become a circus. Coaches that were misled into believing that Tampa Bay had any interest in them probably cared. Are you actually saying its OK for owners to do crappy things and treat their employees badly just because they are the owners? There's nothing bad about this?
Compensation for Gruden: First and Second round Bucs picks this year and next for the Raiders according to ESPN. Sapp stays. Man, what a long, strange fill of a coaching slot this has been! It seems like everyday since New Years a new coach was "on the verge of signing." They really dicked McKay, Dungy and Lewis around, so I agree with the earlier poster who thinks it sucks that they were rewarded with such a good coach. Gruden is the best they could have got, I think.
OK, let's look at this: They fired Dungy, rightfully so. They thought they had a deal with Parcells, he decided not to coach. They tried to reach a deal with the Raiders for Gruden, but Al Davis wanted too much. The GM then wanted Lewis, but the owners did not. Would you argue that this isn't their right? They also interviewed Nick Saban, Norv Turner, and Ralph Friedgen, who they either didn't want or didn't want them. Who cares? They didn't do anything crappy, and if the players feel that way, they should probably take a look at themselves and their performance on the field before making any complaints about the front office, especially the owners. They got who they wanted. In this case, they really wanted Gruden. If that's who they want, but that's who McKay wanted, who trumps who? I say the owners. People can call them a laughing stock all they want to, most of that is because of the lackluster play on the field (mostly due to horrendous coaching). However, they got what many believe will be one of the best coaches for a long time. Beating a Buc hater, I'm not laughing at them.
<B>They thought they had a deal with Parcells, he decided not to coach. </B> Depends on who you believe. First off, they went behind their GM's back to deal with Parcells. Parcells supposedly began contacting potential assistant coaches, which would have been tampering. Many people feel that this is why Parcells suddenly withdrew, given that it happened a day or two after this information surfaced. Regardless, that was crappy act #1 in how they treated the GM. <B>They tried to reach a deal with the Raiders for Gruden, but Al Davis wanted too much. </B> Fair. <B>The GM then wanted Lewis, but the owners did not. Would you argue that this isn't their right? </B> Absolutely, it's their right. However, misleading the GM and the coach into believing they were OK with this hiring is a crappy thing #2 (both the GM and the coach said they were misled). <B>They also interviewed Nick Saban, Norv Turner, and Ralph Friedgen, who they either didn't want or didn't want them. </B> Fair enough. At least once candidate anonymously said that the whole GM / owner thing warded them off. Thus, a coach was driven off by crappy things #2 and #3. Outside of this lucky break getting Gruden, that would have been crappy thing #3 for the players. <B>Who cares? </B> GM, coaches, and players who got crapped on. And fans who don't like the fact that good things happened to a "bad" owner.
I bet Manny just loves this. I look at it this way, I hate to loose Gruden and I am surprised Al let him go but at least they got some compensation for him. Those picks could produce some decent players. Had he worked out the contract this coming year the team would have been out of focus anyway knowing he was leaving. I surely dont agree with Al Davis on some of the moves he has made but the fact he found Shanahan and Gruden in the first place says alot. I do wish he would have just paid Gruden but I wont pass judgement on this move till I see who he hires to be the next coach. Shanahan can cry about being owed money but he isnt getting a dime. Both Al and Mike need to let that old business go. Regardless GO RAIDERS!!!!!!!!
A bad owner who helps pay for the talent that the Bucs have? A GM is crapped on when he's going to get another high-paying job? The players crap on themselves when they underachieve year in and year out. They should be happy as hell that the owners got them such a great coach. I still fail to see where other coaches got crapped on either. Maybe Marvin Lewis, but he's been crapped on by every other team with a head coaching vacancy as well.
Exactly. The Raiduhs are screwed with the salary cap for 2002. I saw on ESPN that they are projected to be 20+ million over the cap. That means the Raiduhs will be doing some serious high-priced talent cutting. Guys like Eric Allen will be gone. Al knows that Gruden is gone after next year. So by cutting their losses now instead of later, the Bucs get 2 #1's and 2 #2's??? To think that Marshall Faulk was traded for a 3rd and 5th round pick (I think), and Gruden is now being traded for everything but the kitchen sink... The Bucs are all about making stupid moves (Randall McDaniel, Jeff Christy, Keyshawn, Brad Johnson) and have made yet another one. Gruden is a good coach, but what is his playoff record? Gruden would have been worth a #1 and maybe another mid-rounder. But, TB will suck I think in the next few years, and those #1 picks will be top 10 picks.
Manny - Al Davis is the best owner ever, Wait until you see what we Get just for giving up a coach, Jerry Krause? C'mon, Krause trades players, All we just did was get a lot of good draft picks and some cash. Al Davis is a genius and don't you ever forget it. The Raiders will be back in 2002 and they will win the Super Bowl
