INDIANAPOLIS _ He didn't walk the halls of the Indianapolis Convention Center at 88 mph. He, almost certainly, didn't arrive at the NFL scouting combine via DeLorean. But new _ and old _ Oakland Raiders coach Jon Gruden made it clear Wednesday that he wanted to go back in time.
Asked about GPS data that will soon be available to all NFL teams, Gruden channeled his inner Marty McFly.
"Man, I'm trying to throw the game back to 1998," he said. "You know, really as a broadcaster, I went around and observed every team, asked a lot of questions, took a look at the facilities, how they're doing business. There's a stack of analytic data ... people don't even know how to read it. It's one thing to have the data ... it's another thing to know how to read the damn thing. So, I'm not going to rely on GPSs and all the modern technology."
Gruden's analytics rant came with only the slightest of caveats.
"I will certainly have some people that are professional that can help me from that regard," he said. "But I still think doing things the old-fashioned way is a good way, and we're going to try to lean the needle that way a little bit."
The old-fashioned way worked for Gruden and the Raiders before: He won nearly 60 percent of his games during a four-year span, from 1998 to 2001.
Speaking from a podium Wednesday, Gruden was the combination of critical and enthusiastic that helped make him a successful broadcaster with ESPN for "Monday Night Football" for close to a decade.
He bemoaned rules prohibiting offseason contact between coaches and players, an impediment, he said, in getting to know and make decisions about his new roster.
"I don't know these guys. I've never coached them," Gruden said. "I never met half of them. So, that's been very, very difficult for me and I've been emotional about it at times."
Gruden knows it can't be 1998 again. But he said seasoned assistants such as offensive coordinator Greg Olson and defensive coordinator Paul Guenther will help him develop the perfect hybrid between the past and the present.
"I mean, you obviously have to change a little bit," Gruden said. "But I think the roots, the foundation of what I know, is going to stay in place."
