He made jokes, reconnected with reporters from his first tour in Oakland and engaged his former players in attendance. This was a moment six years in the making, the conclusion of a quest started shortly after Mark took control following owner Al Davis' death.

Jon Gruden coached the Oakland Raiders through a strong stretch of their franchise history.

Is there room enough for Chucky and Beast Mode? Under Gruden the Raiders did have their best years yet it was short lived.

The league Gruden returns to will look markedly different than what he left in 2008 when he was sacked as the head coach of the Buccaneers, particularly in regard to the use of social media by players and teams.

Does Gruden have a no-trade clause in his contract this time? It's about the people, it's about the staff, it's about the tempo we establish as a coaching staff. Still, Gruden said it was his love for the city of Oakland that helped bring him back. I like being with the quarterbacks, I like calling the plays. Gruden already has his offensive coordinator (Greg Olson) and defensive coordinator (Paul Guenther) set.

There has been a video shared around the internet in recent days of when Carr met Gruden during the coach's television "QB Camp" before the 2014 draft. Gruden will be paid $100 million over the course of his 10-year deal, but said in his introductory press conference Tuesday that he doesn't feel pressure. As far as working with Reggie McKenzie on adding new players to the team, they will work together.

However, they may not see eye to eye on everything. He's probably going to win. "I'll let Mark [Davis] talk about that".

Mark Davis said Tuesday was the best day of his life.

Marcio Jose Sanchez

Del Rio went 25-23 in three seasons as head coach and led the Raiders to the playoffs in 2016 for the first time in 14 years.

But the timing was right. This time around we are getting a wiser Gruden. He's been offered coaching gigs throughout his broadcasting career, only to turn them all down.

The 54-year-old also compared his tenures with the Raiders and Buccaneers as teaching lessons for this unforeseen return to the head-coaching ranks. But his heart was in only one place. And that might be the first time I started to get the inkling that, 'Hey, maybe this time he may be the one to come back and fix it, rather than helping me try to figure it out'. "I really haven't. I'm not a real deep philosophical person".

"It's a business", Lynch told me after I asked him about Jack Del Rio being fired as Raiders coach minutes earlier. "I feel a lot of loyalty and responsibility to get the Raiders going again". It's been a while since we consistently performed at a high level.

Davis said the pending move to Las Vegas in 2020 had nothing to do with hiring Gruden. "I think that's a reason why you might not have the same season you had a year ago".

A few fans I spoke with before the presser spread the idea of removing the tarps from home games and selling those tickets. Apparently, they were never Davis' first choice. Carr sustained a fractured transverse process injury against the Denver Broncos on October 1. They won only six games. Oakland A's manager Bob Melvin arrive for the Jon Gruden presser.

And he is right.