This is going to be either a grand slam, or a strike out with the bases loaded. Nothing in between.
I'm not sure I know of a coach who hadn't coached at any level for nearly a decade, coming out of retirement, and then leading a team to success for the next several years.
Gruden is young enough to have the energy for it, no doubt.
But is HCing a perishable skill?
Or is it like riding a bicycle?
I don't know. I'm not sure there's evidence one way or the other. Marv Levy was out for 3 years (sort of), and came back and was successful. But leaving coaching entirely and working TV for a decade before diving back into coaching again? I don't think there is precedence for that.
But you can also bet that since he's getting that kind of a staggering deal (although not THAT unprecedented since Jimbo Fisher recently got $75 mil for 10 years to coach Texas A&M), that Gruden is going to also have a lot of say over personnel and the roster.
But consider this as well: what with Fisher and Gruden getting huge dollar, full decade contracts, that is going to change future HC contracts for big name guys. Not that a newbie like McVay would have received such a deal; but another couple of years similar to this year and the Rams are going to NEED to lock McVay up on one of those 10 year megabucks deals or somebody will make it clear that they will.
Would Harbaugh come back to the NFL for that kind of scratch and longevity? Might Cowher? I suspect they would. But you can also bet that the more conservative owners will refuse to go that route for the foreseeable future because the money liability is just huge and not a joke even for a Billionaire. What if Gruden completely bombs with the Raiders? Parcells and Jimmy Johnson bombed out when they moved teams for huge bucks. What if they look more like Cleveland in 3 years than the Rams? Does Davis have the bucks to just throw $70 mil into a dumpster and burn it? Because you can bet that Gruden would go back to the broadcast booth and not to another NFL team if that happened.
Welcome back Jon. Can't wait to see those priceless Chucky faces on the sidelines again.
