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NFL

Jerry Rice: Jon Gruden's 'Chucky' is coming for the young Raiders

ALAMEDA, Calif. — Ten years might not seem long in general, but it is an eternity in the NFL.

So many things have changed since Jon Gruden last roamed an NFL sideline in 2008 for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. We aren’t just talking about the CBA, rule changes or where the Oakland Raiders will be calling home in 2020 (pssst, Las Vegas).

Because while no one who has been around Gruden the past decade will ever argue that he is not insanely prepared to coach a football game, there are questions as to whether his manic, in-your-face style of coaching will jibe with this generation of players.

“I think I was deep down somewhere [wanting to coach again],” Jon Gruden said Tuesday during his introductory news conference in Alameda, California. Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP Photo

“He can be your best friend or your worst enemy,” said Hall of Fame receiver Jerry Rice, who played for Gruden in Oakland in 2001. “That’s going to keep you on your toes. And maybe that was something that the players, they were lacking this year.

“I hope these players are ready because they’re going to get Chucky. They’re going to get him … Chucky’s going to come out.”

Gruden is expected to light a fire under players who might not be properly motivated, so to speak. Rice, the greatest receiver of all time before he crossed the San Francisco Bay to join the Raiders, said Gruden motivated even him by pushing him.

“Either you buy in, or you’re not going to be a part of it,” said Rice, who compared Gruden to Bill Walsh as a motivator and coach.

That’s what Gruden is expected to do with the likes of Derek Carr, Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper.

“Yeah, he’s coming for them, man,” Charles Woodson, who was Gruden’s first draft pick in 1998 and who last played for Oakland in 2015, said of the current Raiders.

“I think the guys will be ready. I think the one thing that will probably take them by surprise is the star-like quality that Gruden has and the relationship that he had with the fan base when he was here. They haven’t seen that. So he’ll be the most popular guy on the sideline. It won’t be Derek Carr. It won’t be Khalil Mack. It’s going to be Jon Gruden.”

Woodson recalled how “demanding” Gruden was as a coach.

“That’s what they’ll have to be ready for,” he added. “They’re young and impressionable, and Gruden will bring the best out of them. And if you don’t respond, you’ve got to go. You’re all-in or nothing.”

Hall of Fame receiver Tim Brown, who was with the Raiders for all four of Gruden’s seasons in Oakland, played his final NFL season with Gruden in Tampa Bay. Brown also had some advice for the current Raiders players.

“Get ready,” he said. “It’s going to be real. I think the one thing we all loved about Jon is he brought passion to the game. It wasn’t just about playing football. It was about playing football with passion.”

Lincoln Kennedy played right tackle for the entirety of Gruden’s Raiders and said he bought in to Gruden immediately, even though he said Gruden had a “Napoleon complex” as coach. Kennedy does wonder about the current group, though.

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“The mentality of today’s player is different,” Kennedy said. “Can he mesh with that?

“He’s excited about the opportunity. I’ve known Jon for many years. I’ve known he wanted to get back. I know he felt there is unfinished business … he’s got a young team. He’s got a young nucleus. He’s got a quarterback. When you have a quarterback, you’ve got a chance. He didn’t really have that in his years in Tampa Bay.”

What about Gruden? Does he wonder if his coaching style will work a decade after he last coached?

“Well, these 50 extra Oakland Raider players that are here today didn’t mind it,” Gruden said of his adversarial style, with a laugh. “I mean, I don’t know what my reputation is. There are some great video clips of me swearing, screaming at players, but I was also the biggest cheerleader in the league. I get excited when we make a play. I get excited when we make a first down. I really get excited when we win. I get really upset when we don’t, and I hope that still has a place in the NFL.

“That is how this organization rolls. It is about winning. If you aren’t winning, we are not going to be happy. I hope that is still a big part of every team in this league because it will be a big part of this organization.”

Soccer

Report: Coutinho skipping Dubai trip to hasten Barcelona move

Philippe Coutinho will not travel with the Liverpool squad for its warm-weather training camp in Dubai in an effort to push through a transfer to Barcelona, according to The Telegraph’s Chris Bascombe.

The Reds are preparing in the United Arab Emirates for next weekend’s Premier League clash with Manchester City, but Coutinho’s involvement in that match now appears unlikely after opting out of the trip.

The Brazilian hasn’t featured for Liverpool since the January transfer window opened, with his latest absence coming in Friday’s FA Cup third-round win over Everton due to a supposed thigh injury.

The red half of Merseyside is determined to keep Coutinho, and is apparently prepared to refuse offers worth as much as £140 million. Liverpool is even disposed to receiving less money in the summer to allow him to feature in the remainder of its 2017-18 Premier League, Champions League, and FA Cup campaigns.

Liverpool is also open to a similar deal to the one it struck with RB Leipzig for Naby Keita, with Coutinho signing for Barcelona now but then effectively staying on loan at Anfield until the end of the season.

However, there is a growing acceptance at Anfield that the club is fighting a losing battle. The fact Coutinho would be ineligible for Barcelona in the knockout stages of the Champions League appears to be no deterrent for the midfielder. Joaquim Piera of Spanish publication SPORT believes there is already an agreement in principle for the sale barring any late hitches in negotiations, and that the Brazilian will sign a five-year contract in Catalonia.

If a transfer is completed, it will conclude a long-term pursuit from Barcelona for the 25-year-old. Liverpool rebuffed three Blaugrana proposals and denied a transfer request from Coutinho last summer. The final spurned bid was worth £118 million including clauses, prompting Liverpool to release a stoic club statement in August that said “no offers for Philippe would be considered.”

This time, Liverpool’s resolve seems to be ebbing away.

NFL

New Packers GM wants Eliot Wolf to stay but 'wouldn't hold him back'

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Brian Gutekunst wants Eliot Wolf to be his top advisor, but the Green Bay Packers general manager says he will understand if his longtime coworker leaves after getting passed over for the job.

It sounds like Gutekunst will let him go.

Wolf, who holds the position of director of football operations, did not receive a promotion Monday, when the Packers introduced Gutekunst as GM and announced changes to their management structure to include president Mark Murphy as the overseer of Gutekunst, executive vice president/football operations Russ Ball and coach Mike McCarthy.

“I would envision him kind of being a right-hand man to me,” Gutekunst said of Wolf on Monday following his introductory news conference. “We have a great relationship. I’m very fond of the person, and the scout is excellent. I’ve told him that. I really want him to be here. But I also know he has other opportunities, and I wouldn’t hold him back from that because I care about him. But if he was here, I’d like to get him more involved in the college side of stuff and have a broader approach to what he’s been doing.”

Eliot Wolf, who holds the position of director of football operations, did not receive a promotion on Monday. Evan Siegle/The Green Bay Press-Gazette

Because the 35-year-old Wolf is still under contract with the Packers, Gutekunst could block him from taking anything other than a GM job with another team, but it doesn’t sound like he would prevent Wolf from leaving.

New Browns general manager John Dorsey wants to hire Wolf as one of his top advisers. Dorsey, the former Packers’ personnel executive, already hired away Alonzo Highsmith to be his vice president of football operations.

Wolf was one of four candidates Murphy interviewed for the GM job. The others were Ball and former Bills general manager Doug Whaley.

Former Packers GM Ron Wolf did not sound happy that his son was passed over for the job he once held, telling ESPN on Sunday night, “Obviously, the people up there don’t think he’s worthy, or they would’ve hired him.”

Gutekunst, 44, got the edge over Wolf in large part because of his experience. Gutekunst is more versed in the college scouting area, having spent 13 years as an area scout and four years as the Packers’ director of college scouting before he became director of player personnel in 2016.

Most of Wolf’s experience has been in pro scouting, which is why Gutekunst believes they would make a good team.

“We’ve been talking throughout this whole thing,” Gutekunst said. “Like I said, he’s a friend, and we do have a very good relationship. I talked to him multiple times and will continue to and see where it goes.”

Gutekunst is expected to retain director of college scouting Jon-Eric Sullivan and director of pro personnel John Wojciechowski.

Soccer

Coutinho unveiled as Barcelona player; debut delayed 3 weeks due to injury

Barcelona unveiled club-record signing Philippe Coutinho to the press Monday, ending a long-winded drama tracing back to the end of the summer transfer window.

He’ll just have to wait a little longer to make his debut.

Upon completing a reported €160-million transfer from Liverpool on Monday and signing a five-and-a-half-year contract with the Blaugrana, the Brazilian was ruled out for around three weeks with a pre-existing thigh problem.

But the news couldn’t wipe the smile off his face. Once the Brazilian consummated his new contract, he presented himself alongside president Jose Maria Bartomeu and performed the customary kickieuppies as he greeted thousands of supporters at the Camp Nou.

Barcelona and Liverpool agreed to the megadeal on Saturday, with the former committed to paying a reported €120 million up front and a further €40 million in add-ons. Coutinho even covered a chunk of that amount to avoid any last-minute hitches, according to The Times’ Paul Joyce.

Coutinho’s buyout clause is also set at a whopping €400 million.

The 25-year-old long campaigned for this move to happen. Although his performances for Liverpool in the first half of the season showed no signs of distractions, manager Jurgen Klopp said Coutinho was “desperate” to join Barcelona. Neither Klopp nor Liverpool’s owners were able to convince the Brazilian to stay.

He is now the second-most expensive footballer in the sport’s history, behind only Paris Saint-Germain’s Neymar. Kylian Mbappe will surpass Coutinho once PSG makes the on-loan teenager’s €180-million transfer from Monaco permanent.

“I want to thank the president and everyone who has made it possible,” he told reporters. “I am very happy, it’s a dream come true, and I hope to be up to the job on the field.”

He continued: “It’s very emotional for me to wear the shirt of the most important club in the world. I am anxious to get going.”

However, Coutinho won’t have the opportunity to play for Barcelona in the Champions League knockout round because he is cup-tied. He already appeared in the tournament’s group stage with Liverpool.

Coutinho missed Liverpool’s first two matches of 2018 with the thigh injury. Some suspected he had exaggerated the issue to finally push through a deal that had been in the works since last summer. Back then, he complained of back pain right around the time Barcelona made its first bid.

The Independent reported in September that a scan revealed “nothing was wrong with him.” Coutinho later represented Brazil in a World Cup qualifier, with the team’s doctor noting that he was in “perfect condition” to play.

But Monday’s medical at Barcelona’s Ciutat Esportiva facility confirmed his current injury is, in fact, real.

Should he need the scheduled three weeks to recover, he would have a chance to make his Barcelona debut against Alaves at home on Jan. 28. He would also be in contention to face former side Espanyol on Feb. 4.

The midfielder has prior experience in La Liga, having played on loan at Espanyol during the 2011-12 season. That was long before he emerged as one of the world’s best playmakers – a role in which he relished at Anfield.

Coutinho spent five years on Merseyside, registering 54 goals and 43 assists after arriving from Inter in 2013 for a measly €9.6 million.

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Soccer