People are drawn to Jon Gruden.
He's got that "it" factor, and when the new Oakland Raiders Head Coach walks in a room, you feel his energy.
Whether it was his introductory press conference, or the 2018 NFL Scouting Combine, people followed him like a hawk, and the situation wasn't much different in Orlando, Fla., for the NFL Owners' meetings.
Gruden met with the media Tuesday for a little over an hour, fielding questions about his new team, coaches, and what it's like to rock the Silver and Black once again. While he was certainly someone many reporters were eager to talk to, other coaches around the league were asked about Gruden's return as well.
Jon and his brother Jay Gruden, head coach of the Washington Redskins, have been around football since they were toddlers. Their father was a pro scout and running backs coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and introduced them to their love of the game at a very young age.
The duo, as you know, both went on to become head coaches in the NFL, but for Jon, after coaching from 1998-2008, he took a hiatus, heading to the broadcast booth. Even though he wasn't on the sideline with a headset, he needed to be near the sidelines in some way, and many imagined he'd return eventually. It was just a matter of when.
"I wouldn't say [I'm] surprised," said Jay Gruden on his brother's return to coaching. "I think he's been talking about it for five, six, maybe seven years now. Every year there's been somebody who's been talking about him coming out of it [broadcast], and he's always kind of said, 'eh.' I didn't think it would happen, but after four or five years I think the itch was starting to get there."
Among NFL analyst and league on-lookers, the major question surrounding Gruden's return is how he'll be able to adjust with the modern day tweaks to the game, but Jay isn't putting any stock in those claims.
"He's been so heavily involved in the game, obviously he's an announcer, but doing his football quarterback camps for all the guys in the draft," he said. "In the offseason he has I don't know how many players come to his building, and they watch tape. He's still going over plays and all that stuff, so he's still actively involved."
While, like Jay, I'm not concerned about Gruden adapting to the nuances of the league in 2018, there's no denying that the league has changed since he called a play in 2008, a change that in some ways Gruden has helped usher. Prior to his departure into the world of broadcasting, Gruden helped mentor now-Los Angeles Rams Head Coach Sean McVay, who's at the forefront of the NFL's wave of innovative young coaches.
"You know, I've always told him because he was so instrumental in helping me kind of develop and grow, and kind of see the game from a big picture perspective," McVay said at the Owners' meetings Tuesday. "I said, 'it's great to have another great coach like you back in coaching.' As good as he was at broadcasting and doing the media thing, he's a special coach. He's got a great passion for the game, guys like him are what's good about our game. Excited to have him back, not excited to play against him, but excited to see him back at coaching."
McVay also took a moment to share what it'll be like to go toe-to-toe with his old mentor.
"It'll be a really humbling, unique opportunity. But getting the chance to come here and see Jay, and Jon, and you just look at the Gruden family and how good they've been to me, I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to work for them and be around these guys."
Gruden's return to coaching is good for the league, the media, and most importantly the Raiders. I'm excited to watch him get to work with the players in the coming weeks, as I'm sure you are as well, Raider Nation.
