Gruden a novelty hire more about PR than winning

The Oakland Raiders triumphantly introduced Jon Gruden as their new head coach Tuesday with all the pageantry of a Las Vegas show.

After finally wresting Gruden from the broadcast booth, the franchise exalted it as a major triumph. That Gruden has been out of coaching for nine years, hasn't won a playoff game since 2002, and has been away from the Raiders for even longer was of little consequence. The team doubled down by handing him a reported 10-year, $100-million contract.

It all gives off the appearance of a novelty hire, that the Raiders are prioritizing winning in the court of public opinion over winning on the field.

How else to explain the franchise'​s last two major additions?

A year ago, the Raiders brought prodigal son Marshawn Lynch out of retirement. The move was celebrated everywhere as Lynch remains one of the NFL's most popular figures.

​Now, it's The Return of Chucky. Gruden was perhaps more beloved than any ​Raider, outside of Tim Brown, over the past two decades. His name and face will garner more merchandise sales than even Lynch achieved, and Beast Mode had the top-selling jersey in 14 states last summer.

But when it comes to on-field performance, Gruden hasn't had to lead a team to victory since ​2008. And that's what's of most importance.

The Raiders own pieces capable of winning right now. Derek Carr is the franchise quarterback Gruden never had in his previous stints in both Oakland and Tampa Bay. He's protected by one of the most feared offensive lines in football and has a game-changing talent in receiver Amari Cooper, though the third​-year player struggled mightily in 2017.

The segment that failed the team this season was the defense. Aside from last year's Defensive Player of the Year, Khalil Mack, the Raiders are deficient in talent on that side of the ball. While the offense ranked 17th in the NFL, the defense finished 23rd. They were 26th in pass defense and dead last in interceptions with five.

​That's what makes the hiring of an offensive coach like Gruden such a head-scratcher.

There's no doubt Carr and the offense could use an infusion of creativity in the playbook, as the duo of Jack Del Rio and Todd Downing appeared to waste the unit's talents. But even if Gruden returns the offense to its 2016 form, or greater, the team won't be going anywhere with that defense.

Gruden, who has administered quarterback camps in his time away from the sidelines, will surely focus much of his attention on that aspect, and entrust new coordinator Paul Guenther with overhauling the defense, but without seeing what the team will accomplish in the draft and free agency, it's hard to see the Gruden hire as little more than a public relations strategy.

Construction is underway on a new stadium in Las Vegas, and before the franchise leaves Oakland, it will need to fill the stands at the Oakland Coliseum and perhaps garner enough public ​support to stay another year or two if their palatial new digs aren't ready by ​2020.

But if you're a Raider fan from Oakland, would you say no to Lynch and Gruden if they come knocking on the door looking for an extension on their rent?

Mark Davis has been chasing Gruden for years, and perhaps in a sense, the fan base has been, too, since he took a Super Bowl title from them the year after he was traded.

The Gruden hire rights a previous wrong, but if it delays a potential championship, to use Davis' words from Tuesday's press conference, it's a "big f'n deal."