Former New York Giants running back, and current CBS Sports Radio national talk show host, Tiki Barber joined the Silver and Black Today on CBS Sports Radio 1140-AM to talk Raiders football and Jon Gruden’s return to the sideline.
Despite many prognosticators and football fans hoping for Jon Gruden to descend from the Monday Night Football booth and return to coaching, a real difference of opinion has emerged since he signed a 10-year $100 million contract with the Raiders. Half of his former cheerleaders now claim the coach is “out of touch” or “been away from the game too long,” asserting he’ll be unable to connect with today’s “modern” player. Former Giants running back Tiki Barber disagrees – for now.
That doubt that some people have that Jon Gruden is not going to have an impact on this team immediately is wrong – Tiki Barber on Silver and Black Today on CBS Sports Radio 1140.
Barber thinks assertions Gruden’s been away from football too long are off base, considering his role and involvement in the game during his time away from coaching.
“He wasn’t away, he was in the game and he was studying the game,” Barber said Sunday on Silver and Black Today on CBS Sports Radio 1140-AM in Las Vegas. “He was breaking down tape, staying engaged with the National Football League even as an analyst for Monday Night Football. The work that goes into being an analyst is as hard as being a player and understanding what guys do well so you can talk about it.”
Barber added Gruden’s QB Camp, which he conducted in Tampa, Fla., every year until he returned to coaching, helped him stay closer to younger players and the new generation of athlete he must now coach. Still, Barber thinks challenges could lie ahead and it has nothing to do with Gruden’s involvement in the game over the last decade.
“Jon Gruden has been engaged,” Barber said. “The question will be how he’s received in a locker room.”
Tiki Barber on Jon Gruden being “engaged” with the game of football away from coaching.
Referencing his brother’s experience in Tampa Bay when Gruden came to the Buccaneers from Oakland in 2002, the coach’s ability to motivate and change culture won’t be in question. Instead, it will be how it translates to the field.
“That doubt that some people have that Jon Gruden is not going to have an impact on this team immediately is wrong,” Barber said. “But it’s not the first act you worry about with Jon Gruden, it’s second one, right, and the third one. What happens down the line as guys start to get used to it?”
Although Barber’s points about the future will have to play out over the course of the 2018 season and beyond, right now the veteran running back has no doubt Gruden’s return is going to bring positive change in Oakland.
Barber doesn’t doubt Gruden’s impact right away, but the future reaction of the roster to the coach is unknown.
“He’s going to have a significant impact on this Raiders team,” Barber said. “Just from a mental attitude and aggression standpoint.”
As for the Raiders roster makeover and the addition of several experienced leaders? Barber believes it’s a big deal and it could mean the difference in the team being in the playoffs in January vs. sitting at home.
“Winning football is about who’s willing to commit,” Barber said. “Attitude means so much more at this point – this early point in the season.”
Hear the entire Tiki Barber interview on Silver and Black Today on CBS Sports Radio 1140-AM.