Raiders players praise Gruden: He 'makes you like football again'

Jon Gruden's infectious, energetic personality is one of the main reasons the Oakland Raiders head coach was such a well-loved media personality during his nine-year spell away from the sidelines.

Apparently, Raiders players are already feeling the Gruden effect.

"I think he definitely has guys buying in," tight end Jared Cook said Tuesday, according to Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "I mean, I bought in for sure because he knows what he's talking about, and you can tell a difference in a coach that knows what he’s talking about and a coach that does not."

Cook continued to heap praise on the $100-million coach, saying he "really makes you like football again."

Derek Carr could be the main beneficiary of an offensive mind like Gruden's, and the quarterback applauded the head coach - who is contracted through 2028 - for helping the team quickly move on from its 2017 struggles.

"He said to hit the reset button," Carr said, "and then we have hopefully 10-plus years to, 'Let’s just ride and figure this thing out, grow every year, and do this thing.' When a coach comes in and does that for everybody, not just me but for everybody, that weight is lifted off. It's like, 'OK, that's done. Whatever that was (in 2017), let's just move forward. Let's just have fun together and work hard.'"