To understand why the Raiders have reportedly hired Jon Gruden—and trust me, the deal is done, sources tell me—you have to go back to how the legend of Gruden was created.
I wrote a chapter of a book, Bloody Sundays, on Gruden and followed him for months when he was coaching in Tampa. He was obsessed, and I mean that in the best of ways. Often he was in the Buccaneers' offices by four or five in the morning. Once I was even there at three-something, and while I was in a caffeinated haze, Gruden was talking about play-calling and route trees.