TAMPA, Fla. — After more than a month without a coach, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers finally have the man they wanted almost from the start: Jon Gruden.
After spending the weekend in negotiations with San Francisco coach Steve Mariucci, the Bucs reversed field Monday and hired Gruden, who had a year left on his contract with the Oakland Raiders but had indicated he would not stay around after it expired after next season.
The Bucs said that Gruden had received a five-year deal.
Terms were not disclosed.
The 38-year-old Gruden, the NFL's youngest head coach, has a 40-28 record in four seasons as the Raiders' coach. He led the team to the AFC title game a year ago losing to eventual Super Bowl champion Baltimore.
This year, the Raiders again lost to the eventual champion, a second-round game in overtime in New England after they blew a 10-point lead in the final quarter.
Gruden replaces Tony Dungy, who was fired Jan. 14, leading to a search that made Tampa Bay — specifically the sons of owner Malcolm Glazer — the laughingstock of football.
First the Bucs were rejected by two-time Super Bowl winner Bill Parcells, with whom they were said to have a deal in place even before Dungy's dismissal.
Then they then failed to reach agreement with the Raiders on a deal for Gruden, whose agent, Bob LaMonte, made it clear would not stick around after his contract expired.
Last weekend, they talked to San Francisco coach Steve Mariucci about the coach and general manager job but were unable to reach agreement. Mariucci sought a seven-year, $42 million package.
The Bucs said the compensation for Gruden would be announced Wednesday when the new coach will be introduced in Tampa.
"We were determined not to let outside pressures derail us from our goal to find the best person to coach the Buccaneers. Our fans deserve nothing less," Bryan Glazer, the team's executive vice president, said in a statement.
"That person is Jon Gruden, the finest young mind in the game. We took our time and got the man we really wanted, and we couldn't be more thrilled."
Gruden is an offensive specialist, a plus for a team that was strong on defense but weak on offense under Dungy. So is Mariucci, who had been at least the eighth candidate the Glazer family has approached in the month since they fired Dungy, who was almost immediately hired as head coach in Indianapolis.
After Parcells turned down an offer to come out of retirement, general manager Rich McKay made an unsuccessful bid to lure Gruden from the Raiders, and the Glazers vetoed McKay's plan to hire former Baltimore assistant Marvin Lewis last week.
The Bucs made the playoffs four of the past five seasons under Dungy.