Who is he? He’s Chuckie, damnit.
How do we know him? He coached the Raiders from 198-2001 before Al Davis traded him to Tampa Bay.
What’s he been doing lately? He’s the funny-faced, every-player-loving analyst on ‘Monday Night Football.’
When will it be official? RaidersSnakepit.com Steve Corkran reported the Raiders will have a “splashy” press conference Tuesday to announce his hiring. Corkran reported Davis has invited many former Raiders’ greats for the event. The Raiders love the past and this blast to the past feeds very much into the Raiders’ lore. By the way, Tuesday is the 41st anniversary of the Raiders’ first Super Bowl victory, a 32-14 win over Minnesota led by the namesake of our site, Mr. Ken Stabler.
How much will he be paid? Gruden is going back to Oakland (and then to Las Vegas) for 10 years and $100 million dollars. Yes, it’s crazy.
Who is going to be on his staff? The reported names are Greg Olson will be the offensive coordinator, Paul Guenther, formerly of Cincinnati, will be the defensive coordinator and Rich Bisaccia will be the special teams coordinator Olson and Bisaccia have worked under Gruden in the past. Bisaccia is considered a top-level special teams coach as was the previous special teams coach Brad Seely. Guenther is considered a solid DC. I’d say he’s about equal to John Pagano, who leaves with Del Rio’s staff. Olson was Derek Carr’s first OC and his familiarly will help the quarterback. But don’t be mistaken, Chuckie is back to call his own plays. It’s his offense.
What about Reggie? There have been reports that McKenzie will stay in Oakland for, at least, this year. It would be highly unlikely McKenzie will retain all the power he had in his first six years in Oakland. There is no way, Davis is going to pay Gruden 10 large a year and not give him full power. This is Gruden’s franchise. There could be roles for McKenzie and top lieutenant Joey Clinksdale and the Sporting News reported Gruden is considering bringing in Brian Heimerdinger of the Jets for a front-office role. The reality is the Raiders are changing from the top to the bottom. This is no longer Reggie’s team whether he is still in the building or not.
The Raiders now belong to Gruden.
Great articles on this site…..loved the Gruden shaking things up….never knew the story about Larry Brown……this will now be one of my favorite sites to visit
Thank you.