Jon Gruden worked with Saints' coaches, Derek Carr this week

Former Raiders coach Jon Gruden and Derek Carr, his ex-quarterback, recently had a reunion all to benefit the New Orleans Saints.

New Orleans coach Dennis Allen asked Gruden to make an extended stop in the Big Easy last week to help with the offensive installation. It’s like getting the (offensive) band back together since Jon Gruden and Derek Carr spent four seasons together in Oakland and Las Vegas. The Saints signed Carr as a free agent this spring. And coincidentally, Allen drafted Carr in 2014 when Allen was head coach of the Raiders. It all so very six degrees of NFL separation, isn’t it?

The Saints, during OTAs this month, began installing an offense that resembles what the Raiders ran under Gruden. No doubt, Gruden likes being back on the sidelines even if it’s as a consultant helping to oversee several off-season practices. Gruden has been out of the coaching business since his forced resignation from the Raiders in October 2021. This was after the NFL discovered emails Gruden wrote using racist and sexist language. Gruden filed a lawsuit against the NFL for wrongful termination.

We’re thinking Derek Carr and Jon Gruden worked well together with the offensive install. The new offense will feature West Coast concepts created by former coach Sean Payton and Gruden. Payton, who now is head coach with the Broncos, retired from the Saints after the 2021 season. Both Gruden and Payton worked together on the offensive staff of the Eagles 25 years ago.

It’s important that everyone is on the same offensive page. The Saints signed the 32-year-old Carr to a four-year contract that’ll pay him $150 million. No question the team wants immediate results. And a big reason the Saints signed him rather than other big name free agent quarterbacks is because he knows the offense.

“It’s a new system, new words, (but) a lot of similarities to things that I grew up on and believe in,” Carr told NOLA.com for a story published Friday. “It’s still a learning curve, but not as big of a curve as it could be in a different system or a different offense.”

The Saints ranked 16th in the NFL in passing yards last season. The Raiders under Carr rated 11th.

“He’s a great fit for us,” Saints offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael said Carr. “We’ll cater to things that he likes as long as it fits with our personnel. The majority of what we’ve done (with the Saints), he’s had some of that over his career. There’s a lot of similarities.”

The Saints also signed a couple more Raiders — tight end Foster Moreau and receiver Bryan Edwards. And bringing in Jon Gruden certainly should make Derek Carr feel like he’s at home.