Oakland Raiders: Derek Carr likes Gruden, but will that last?

So far the relationship between Oakland Raiders head coach Jon Gruden and quarterback Derek Carr is just fine. But will that last?

This offseason, the Oakland Raiders turned to a familiar face when they brought Jon Gruden back to be their head coach. Gruden was one of the youngest head coaches in NFL history as he joined the Raiders at just 35 years of age back in 1995.

He was there for four seasons and had a record of 38-26 before being involved in a rare coach trade. Oakland dealt Gruden to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and as fate would have it, he beat his former team in the Super Bowl that very season.

After leaving Tampa Bay in 2008, Gruden headed to the booth and called Monday Night Football games for ESPN until this opportunity came along.

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One of the biggest questions since his return has been how the Raiders young quarterback, Derek Carr, would handle Gruden’s approach.

For anyone who doesn’t remember his first stint on the sidelines, Gruden was nicknamed “Chucky” for his demonstrative outbursts on the sidelines. He was also known for being incredibly hard on his players, something Jerry Rice “warned” the team about recently.

"“I hope these players are ready, because they’re going to get Chucky,” Rice said via Tim Daniels of Bleacher Report. “They’re going to get him, and how they deal with that could tell the whole story. But Chucky’s going to come out. And either you buy in or you’re not going to be part of it.”"

Gruden wore on his players during his tenure both in Oakland and Tampa Bay, which speaks to Rice‘s warning about some players not being a part of it. That was well-documented during his time as a coach, and it’s not like he’ll come in as a different person.

Whether or not you’re a fan of his tough-nose style, the truth is today’s players seldom seem to respond to that. Guys who relate to them like Pete Carroll, Doug Pederson and Sean McVay seem to be the recent trend.

That’s what makes it a fair question when asking if the current team leader in Carr can put up with Gruden for long. Being the face of the franchise, Gruden will hold Carr to a higher standard and to this point, Carr says he has enjoyed the way Gruden is challenging him.

"Carr is “enthusiastic about the pushing and prodding he’s gotten from his new coaches.” — via Albert Breer of SI.com"

Carr can learn a lot from Gruden. Should he continue to take the teachings, he could be better for it.

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The question remains of whether or not he’s up to the task as Gruden has a history of being taxing.

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