JON GRUDEN INTRODUCTORY PRESS CONFERENCE, 2/20/02

 

Director of Communications Reggie Roberts:

(introductory statement) “I’d like to thank you all for coming to our news conference today.  It’s an exciting day for our franchise, our ownership group and our new head coach.

We’d like to bring up our owner, Malcolm Glazer, to say a few words and introduce Jon.”

 

Owner Malcolm Glazer:

(introductory statement) “It’s a great day for the Glazer family and for all the Tampa Bay patrons here.  We’re very, very happy and we want to introduce Jon Gruden, our new head coach.”

 

Head Coach Jon Gruden:

(introductory statement) “I’d just like to say thank you very much.  I woke up this morning and had no idea how I got here.  But I would like to thank Mr. Glazer and, obviously, Bryan and Joel Glazer for their help through Bob LaMonte, my agent, for finding a way to get me here in Tampa, Florida.

“I’d just like to open today and say some very simple things.  Number one, I have great respect for the vision of the Glazer family and what they’ve done for this franchise since they’ve been in Tampa.  I have a high amount of respect for the current status of our football team here in Tampa.  They’re a highly competitive football team.  There are some aspiring characters already here in Tampa.  I look forward to working with the group of players that we have and doing everything within my power to put a great coaching staff together and to take this franchise to another level.

“I’d be happy to answer any questions that I can.  Again, quite simply, I’m thrilled to be here, and all I can guarantee is a lot of hard work and effort to try to put the Tampa Bay Buccaneers into championship form.”

(on putting together a coaching staff and the situation with Rich McKay)

“Those are the two big questions right now that I’ve got to get answered.  Number one, with Rich McKay, he’s distinguished himself as a top-flight football man here in Tampa.  I’m eager to see Rich McKay back with us.  I have a high regard for him.  I look forward to working with him.  I just expect the situation to resolve itself quickly.  In regards to the coaching staff, that’s something I’m going to take my time on.  We’ve got some defensive coaches that are currently under contract, we’ve got some offensive coaches that are currently under contract.  Monte Kiffin is a guy that I go way back with.  I’m going to do everything I can do to keep Monte Kiffin here.  I’m looking forward to meeting the rest of the defensive coaches.  They’ve done a tremendous job here.  I’ll do that starting some time later today.  But we’re going to find the best teachers, the most inspiring men that we can to stimulate our football team and encourage them to take their games to new personal highs.

(on how long it will take the Bucs to feel comfortable in a new offensive system)

“It depends on the player.  With the way football is today, you’ve got to be a quick study in the NFL today.  There’s not seven or eight or nine-year combinations of players anymore.  We feel like our system is user-friendly, but we’ll wait and see.  It depends on the energy put in by our football team.  I’m confident that we’re going to have a lot of guys that are excited about what we’re asking them to do.  I believe it will be a quick process.”

(on working with a different style of ownership)

“I’m just going to coach anyhow, just so everybody knows.  I don’t care how the owner works.  Mr. Glazer, I just had an opportunity to have lunch with him and meet him for the very first time.  But I’m not shy, I don’t have thin skin.  I’m going to coach with the style that I’ve always coached with, and I welcome any input I can get from the ownership.  That’s obvious.”

(on how long it took him to make up his mind to come to Tampa)

“There was no decision involved, really.  I got a phone call late from Al Davis.  He explained the possible situation that I was in.  I want to be with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, for a lot of reasons.  Number one, I’m from here.  I’ve got roots here.  I understand how this profession works.  There are some decisions that are made more easily than others.  But I wanted to be here for some time and the decision was easy.”

(on the assets and shortcomings of the Bucs)

“This is a very good football team in all areas.  There have been hard knocks against the offensive group, but I’ve had a chance to study Tampa Bay as a football coach in another time zone.  This is a very dedicated crowd here, guys that compete.  They’re going to be in every football game, they’ve got a good, solid kicker in Gramatica and they play great team defense here.  They run to the football, they’re great tacklers, and I think on offense they’ve got some exciting people here, with Keyshawn Johnson, Warrick Dunn, Mike Alstott.  They’ve got the makings of an outstanding offensive line.  What all that means doesn’t matter very much right now.  We’ve got to take it to the bank and prove what we can do between the lines when the season starts.”

(on the draft pick compensation to the Raiders) 

“I don’t look at that as a serious detriment.  Obviously, when you lose draft picks, particularly first and second-rounders, you’ve got to be honest and say that, certainly, those are four players that could have potentially helped our team.  But there are a lot of vehicles to improve your football team in modern-day football, with free agency, and there will be a lot of guys available every June.  There are just a lot of ways to get better.”

(on what he would say to the ‘Raider Nation’)

“In my experience there, they know how much I appreciated the support that they gave me.  They know that I’m a very simple-minded coach.  I’ve got a new challenge and so do they.  I’m going to be relentless, and I’m sure they will be also.”

(on the importance of his relationship with the quarterbacks)

“Very important.  That will be one of the most important things that I endure here in the next six to eight weeks.  I’m looking forward to meeting Brad Johnson and Shaun King.  I’m looking forward to finding more quarterbacks that can come in here and compete.  It will be a position that we scrutinize very carefully and we’ll work to cultivate as many arms as we can in our program here.”

(on hiring an offensive coordinator)

“I’m going to coach the quarterbacks and call the plays.  That’s what I love probably most about being in this league.  I enjoy the strategy.  I enjoy the communication with the quarterback.  Eventually, there might be an offensive coordinator, but I’m going to be as creative as I can be with the coaching staff.  I’m going to see who’s available.  I’m not going to just start naming people to different titles without doing a lot of careful research.”

(on whether he believed he would get to this point in his career)

“Well, you’ve got to dream.  You’ve got to have big dreams, man.  Heck, yeah.  I remember when I was 15, 16 years old, walking down the street.  I was the MVP of every Super Bowl ever played.  I’ve had big dreams all along.  I’ve been very fortunate to be around good people and some great players.  The most stimulating thing about being in the NFL is the players.  We’ve got some here.  I look forward to making some new relationships with them and competing with these guys.”

(on the up-and-down nature of the Bucs’ pursuit of him)

“Well, I had a great job in Oakland.  We won some games there.  I was fully content to continue working with the Oakland Raiders and hopefully take our team further in the playoffs.  There has been a lot of speculation about different jobs over the last three or four weeks.  It never really distracted me very much because there’s been a lot of speculation since I got to Oakland.  But when I woke up and found out that I was coming back to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where I’m from, it was very exciting for me.”

(talk about your offensive philosophy and will it change, and Warrick Dunn)

“This is my first day on the job. Our philosophy is very simple. Our philosophy is to do whatever we have to do to win. If we can run the ball every single play and if we feel like a defense is vulnerable, we’ll do that. We like to be versatile, we like to be creative and we like to distribute the ball evenly, get some balance in terms of our attack, a lot of personnel groupings. There are some plays and formations, maybe that we’ll try to mix up on a weekly basis. I think it’s a fun offense, honestly. To have a guy like Warrick Dunn that can line up in any eligible position and make plays are certainly the kind of guys that I get excited about. Warrick Dunn is a young man that I am looking forward to meeting, and hopefully we can work out his return.”

(on the current defensive situation)

“The big thing with Monte (Kiffin) is that you know he never stays the same. I went by the facility today it’s February 20^th and he’s in there with his defensive staff finding new wrinkles. I think one of the great things that Tampa has done over the last five or six years is draft players that fit this system. And at the same time Monte has really done a great job staying ahead of the posse and tinkering with it, adding new wrinkles, and really made it very, very effective. I will of course spend some time with Monte and we’ll see where we go from there.”

(on possibility of getting Jay (Gruden) on the staff)

“I”ve been trying to get Jay on the same staff that I’ve been on for quite some time. He’s still a very good professional quarterback. He’s a good football coach in his own right. He’ll make a decision I’m sure on what he wants to do with his future here in the next few days. He knows that I want him in Tampa. But obviously it’s great to be close to my family now that I’m back home. This is a great thrill to me. That’s the silver lining in this whole thing. The most important thing is to win football games.  Our players, I believe, could care less how I got here.  They could care less who I know that lives in this area.  I think they want some straight organization and direction in terms of what we have to do to improve our football team.”

(on the emotions on the sidelines)

“This is a very emotional business.  We were accused in Oakland of having sideline shenanigans with Rich Gannon and various other plays.  This is an emotional game played by emotional men, a very physical sport.  I’m not going to have a ‘No Yelling’ sign on our sideline, I guarantee you that. Our scouts will go all over the country, and we’re looking for players who are very emotional men and guys that love this game that will do anything to win.  That’s one thing that I greatly admire about the Tampa Bay Buccaneer football team at this present state.  These guys compete, hard.  I’ll get to know these guys personally, they’ll get to know me and we’ll make any arrangements that need to be made later.”

(on hiring Jay (Gruden)

“I just told Jay that I am very, very interested in hiring him. I’ve told Jay that repeatedly over the last six or seven years. This whole staff acquisition, I think will take care of itself. We have to see who is available and we will. There are some very particular things that you have to be aware of. You are not allowed to tamper with coaches. It’s very difficult to acquire talent in terms of coaches. A lot of these have contractual obligations and you can’t just pick up the phone and call them because it is a league violation.”

(on if  you will meet with the scouts and tell them your philosophy)

“Absolutely. We are going to work together here and I think that’s one of the great things that Tampa Bay has done in the last six or seven years. I realize and respect the shoes that I have to fill. Tony Dungy was a great coach here. I believe they had a great working relationship between the scouts and the coaching staff. That’s something that I believe is very important, also. The criteria we’re looking for might change and that’s something that we’ve got to obviously address quickly.”

(on if willing to fill role of general manager)

“I don’t want to speculate on that. I’m confident that everything is going to work out with Rich (McKay). I’m mentally getting myself prepared to coach a football team and going to concentrate on that aspect of football. I am really looking forward to working with Rich McKay, and I am confident it will work itself out.”

(on if pressure to restore image of the team)

“There’s always pressure.  That’s the great thing about being in the NFL, the pressure, the feeling of pressure.  You either feel pressure or you apply pressure.  Hopefully, with the group of players that we have assembled here, we’re going to be able to apply a lot of pressure to the other team.”

(on if you have final authority on personnel issues)

“As far as I know.”

(on the training facility)

“Well, it’s very important. I think as you look around the NFL and you see some of the creative facilities that are being put together, it’s impressive. I have talked with Joel and Bryan Glazer about that, a new facility for the Buccaneers. It’s easier for a coach to say, ‘lets get a facility’ than it really is. There are a lot of difficulties in getting land. The zoning and the ordinances and things of that nature are very difficult. I’ve been told that we will indeed have a brand new facility and it’s state-of-the-art, like our stadium. I think we’ve proven to the football world on how we look at facilities. I am confident that we will have our own individual facility as soon as possible.”

(on if plan to meet with the team)

“Not yet. I think the big thing right now is, number one let’s hire our own coaching staff. Let’s direct our staff accordingly. Let’s all get on the same page. I would like to meet with people in the building. We’ve got to prepare for the combine in Indianapolis, working on our offseason program, when are the mini camps. We are allowed to have three. When I see these guys starting the offseason programs, there will an appropriate time to let them know a little bit about Jon Gruden and his vision of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.”

(on when got the first call)

“It was about two o’clock in the morning, so I wasn’t sure in the morning if it was a dream or reality.  But, honestly, it was a shocking turn of events.  I went to the Golden State Warrior-Atlanta Hawk basketball game with my kids.  I went to bed around 10:30, 11 o’clock, and four o’clock the next morning I was headed to Tampa Bay and I was very excited.  It was a night that I’ll never forget, and I look forward to making the most of this opportunity.”

(on if it sank in that you are the Buccaneers coach)

“Yeah, absolutely. It was just my wife and I and we had a chance to sit down privately and just talk about how excited we were to come here. Now it’s a matter of making the most of this opportunity.”

(on if the talent is on the Buccaneers to go to the Super Bowl)

“You know what, I’ve seen Tampa Bay play, I’ve competed against the Buccaneers as a coach. I’m not going to make a lot of predictions at this time until I get a chance to see it on the field for myself. I’m not going to make a lot of bold predictions. I’ll just say that we’re confident that we do have a lot of talented individuals on our football team.”

(on if the transition of philosophies)

“Everyone has seen the offenses that I have been a part of the last seven or eight years knows it’s not a West Coast offense. I see the West Coast offense as a slick back type of system. We’re not the San Francisco 49ers in 1981 or 1982. There are certain variables in our offense, I’m sure that have west coast roots. We’re going to be as creative as we can be to make first downs, score touchdowns and win football teams. People can call it whatever they want.”