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End of the rainbow In the end, Bucs opt for Gruden instead of MariucciPosted: Monday February 18, 2002 5:01 PM
Even though he didn't wind up getting the Tampa Bay head coaching job that he was in line for, San Francisco's Steve Mariucci had plenty to do with the surprising five-year deal that brought the Bucs and Oakland's Jon Gruden together Monday. Though details remain sketchy on just how the 49ers head coach overplayed his hand with Tampa Bay, perhaps asking for too much in terms of money or personnel authority, league sources say the Bucs job was his to lose until Sunday night. That's when Bucs vice presidents Bryan and Joel Glazer got back into contact with the Raiders regarding Gruden, and when Oakland owner Al Davis realized he had to cut the best deal possible with Tampa Bay.
Why? Because once Tampa Bay neared a deal for Mariucci, Davis was put into the position of being dealt a devastating double whammy in regards to Gruden. If the 49ers had indeed extracted a package of four draft picks from the Bucs in exchange for their head coach, San Francisco would have no doubt pursued Gruden next offseason once his Raiders contract expired, installing either current general manager Terry Donahue or even Bill Walsh himself on the sidelines for 2002. Faced with the prospect of losing both his talented young head coach and his chance to receive a bevy of draft picks in compensation, all within a span of 11 months or so, Davis was driven to the bargaining table by unforeseen events. His choice was one of all or nothing. Either he could watch as his hated cross-bay rivals landed both the Bucs' draft picks and Gruden inside of a year, or he could strike now, land the package of four Tampa Bay picks himself, and ensure that Gruden would be working on the West Coast of Florida rather than in the Raiders' backyard. From that perspective, the trade was a steal for Oakland and Davis, who will receive two first-rounders and two second-rounders between now and 2004, plus $8 million in cash, from the Bucs in exchange for Gruden's rights. The deal, at least in the short term, worked out for the beleaguered Bucs as well. In Gruden, the Glazers hired the second biggest fish they pursued -- after The Tuna himself, Bill Parcells -- in their debacle of a five-week head coaching search. They paid heavily for him, mortgaging a good chunk of their next three drafts plus handing him a five-year deal for an estimated $20 million, but the New England Patriots this season showed that a costly deal for a quality head coach can pay for itself in a short period of time. As for Gruden, he too gets what he desperately wanted, a chance to avoid a lame-duck season in Oakland and the ability to work in one of the NFL's more attractive locales. Gruden has ties to the Tampa Bay area as well. Besides vacationing in the state for three weeks a year, his parents live in Tampa, where his father, Jim Gruden, once worked on the Bucs' assistant coaching staff. His brother, former Louisville quarterback Jay Gruden, is with the Orlando Predators of the Arena League and has lived in Florida since the early 1990s. Much about Gruden's situation in the Bucs organization is still undecided. Most importantly, his hiring means there's a chance that Tampa Bay won't lose the services of general manager Rich McKay. Unlike Mariucci, Gruden is not seeking to be the team's GM and has made it known he would like to work with McKay. If the cost of losing McKay doesn't have to be added to the Bucs' price tag for Gruden, that's another win for Tampa Bay. But McKay's relationship with the Glazers has been severely damaged during the course of the Bucs' coaching search, and he remains Atlanta's top choice to become its new general manager. If the two sides can work out their compensation issues, McKay will leave given the chance. His replacement could be longtime NFL executive Ken Herock, who is expected to join Gruden with the Bucs in either the GM role or a high-level personnel position. One facet of Tampa Bay's new-looking coaching staff does look to be in place. With the Raiders' deal with Tampa Bay stipulating that Gruden cannot take any of his assistants with him, the Bucs are now likely to retain their defensive staff, including coordinator Monte Kiffin and defensive line coach Rod Marinelli. As for Mariucci, he can only wonder what might have been had the Bucs wound up with the San Francisco bay area's other marketable young head coach. Mariucci has two years remaining on his 49ers contract, at roughly $2.2 million per season. That's a far cry from the seven-year, $42 million deal he reportedly was seeking to become the Bucs head coach and general manager. But Mariucci has no one to blame but himself. More than anyone, he inadvertently brought about the circumstances that put the Bucs and Gruden together. Even while he was in the final stages of punching his own ticket to Tampa Bay. Don Banks covers pro football for CNNSI.com.
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