In Year 3, Jon Gruden has Raiders in the right direction

There’s no question the task was daunting. A depleted roster required an overhaul. The culture of losing that had taken root needed to be eviscerated.

On top of all that, the three-year process of moving the Raiders from their longtime home in Oakland to their future home in Las Vegas was just getting underway.

It was all a tall order indeed. But when the Raiders, an iconic NFL franchise, took a frank, brutally honest look at themselves, they decided to invest whatever resources were necessary to finally restore order.

Hence the 10-year contract to not only lure Jon Gruden back to the sideline from the broadcast both but to assure him that the franchise was committed to do what was necessary to establish long-term success even if it caused short-term discomfort.

Three years later, the roster is almost completely rebuilt, the Raiders have landed in Las Vegas, where a lavish new practice facility in Henderson has created a sense of pride and purpose, and glistening Allegiant Stadium beckons as their new game-day home. A 2020 playoff push isn’t out of the question.

And Gruden, whom some in the organization have described as “maniacal” in his quest to restore the Raiders to their former glory, is the face of it all.

We want to get the Raiders back to the recognizable brand that the Raiders are associated with, and that’s a winning brand

Jon Gruden

Now in his second go-around with the Raiders, it was Gruden who helped build the foundation that would ultimately deliver the Silver and Black to their last Super Bowl appearance. Ironically, it was Gruden’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers who denied the Raiders another Lombardi Trophy, the 48-21 loss in 2003 coming the year after Gruden left the Raiders to coach the Buccaneers.

But after a 10-year coaching hiatus, Gruden returned to the organization that gave him his first head-coaching opportunity with the objective of getting things turned around. “We want to get the Raiders back to the recognizable brand that the Raiders are associated with, and that’s a winning brand,” Gruden said.

He can see tangible evidence of advancement but knows there is still work to be done. The Raiders have gone 4-12 and 7-9 in his first two seasons at the helm. “We’re still not there yet, but we’re making progress,” he said.

Obstacles overcome

There have been a few obstacles thrown in his way, namely a global pandemic that nearly sabotaged the Raiders’ transition from Oakland to Las Vegas and forced Gruden and his staff to be flexible.

It has been a learning experience for sure, one Gruden and the Raiders have done on the fly, such as being forced to deal with the different dynamics of training camp in the middle of the summer in Las Vegas compared with their normal training camp home in more temperate Napa Valley.

“You have to adapt day after day after day. Number one, to the weather,” Gruden said. “We were supposed to be in Napa, California, where we’re accustomed to a certain weather. Being in a desert is different. We practiced at 7:30 a.m. I don’t know any team in the history of the NFL that has practiced at 7:30 a.m. to beat the heat.”

Meanwhile, everything from the camp schedule to the roster size has been altered.

“Normally we have 90 players at the start of camp; we started training camp with 80,” Gruden said. “You had no preseason games. … We had no spring practice, so we had to fast-track a lot of these players.”

Gruden said the first time he met free-agent acquisition Cory Littleton was when he arrived on the practice field for the first time in his uniform and helmet.

Despite all that, Gruden said the Raiders “have made great progress” as they head into the 2020 season. “I’m really proud of the coaches. I’m really proud of our veteran players, and we have some emerging young guys that I think this franchise will be proud about.”

Prominent among that progress is the creation of an environment that puts a premium on character and accountability.

Gruden and general manager Mike Mayock are in lockstep on this. A veteran leadership group has been established that Gruden not only leans on but offers a willing and open ear.

“We have some continuity in this building,” Gruden said. “And there hasn’t been a lot of continuity. Hopefully, we can stay on schedule and continue to build one of the great football teams for the great city of Las Vegas.”

Culture created

But all of that will be for naught if the team doesn’t attract top-notch talent. To build a championship team, Gruden knows the draft is critical. “You got to hit in the draft,” Gruden said. “I think the last couple of drafts have been pretty good. We’ll see how this draft (class) goes.”

Gruden singled out three characteristics as critical to the Raiders’ rebuild. They needed to add bigger bodies, speed and passion, he said.

The passion, defined by Gruden as a commitment to the sport, is nonnegotiable, now more than ever after the dangerous dance the Raiders took with Antonio Brown last year. That fiasco blew up in their face, but the silver lining of the experience was a re-affirmation that the Raiders can’t compromise on character.

For veteran Raiders, the mandate that has created is clear, just as Gruden intended it.

“From the top down, all the way up and down the roster, from the coaching staff, everything we’re doing you say, ‘Oh, yeah, they’re doing it the right way,’ ” quarterback Derek Carr said. “You see it playing out in front of you every single day by every single person.

“And if they don’t, they’re not going to be here. No matter who it is. If it’s not done the right way or the way they want it, trust me, I know more than anybody, you’re not going to be here.”

Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on Twitter.