GM Rich McKay's role with the team is uncertain.

The Bucs ended their five-week coaching saga with a stunning twist, agreeing to a surprise deal with Gruden reached after weekend negotiations failed with 49ers coach Steve Mariucci.

Gruden, who had a year left on his contract with the Raiders but had indicated he would not stay after next season, agreed to a five-year, $17.5-million deal, or $3.5-million per season.

But the Bucs paid an even bigger price for Gruden, who at 38 is the youngest coach in the NFL. The Raiders will receive Tampa Bay's first- and second-round picks in April, a first-round pick in 2003 and a second-round pick in 2004. Also, the Bucs will pay the Raiders $8-million over a three-year period.

"We were determined not to let outside pressures derail us from our goal, which was to find the best person to coach the Buccaneers," team executive vice president Bryan Glazer 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. This was one of the most important decisions in the history of this franchise."

[AP photo]
At 38, Gruden is the youngest coach in the NFL. The Bucs will make him the fourth highest-paid coach in the league.

The Bucs have scheduled a news conference for Wednesday to formally introduce Gruden as coach. Gruden spent Monday on the telephone saying goodbye to Raiders players and coaches and will arrive in Tampa today.

"I'm sort of taking this all in," Gruden told the Oakland Tribune. "I've never been traded before. I'm grateful for the opportunity from Al Davis to coach the Raiders, and it's sad to leave such a great group of players and such great fans. At the same time, I'm excited for the opportunity in Tampa."

Gruden's hiring as coach leaves open the question of Rich McKay's future as general manager. McKay interviewed with Atlanta last week, and appeared to be the choice of Falcons owner Arthur Blank to become that team's GM. But Gruden spoke with McKay by telephone Monday, and McKay is expected to meet with the Glazers in Tampa today to discuss the possibility of McKay's staying for the final year of his contract.

The Bucs might recoup draft picks from the Falcons in exchange for McKay. But Atlanta does not have a second or a fourth-round pick this year, and Blank does not want to pay a premium for McKay. If McKay leaves, Gruden could have the final say in personnel decisions.

Gruden will not be allowed to bring any Raiders assistants to Tampa Bay. But he is considered an offensive mastermind and calls his own plays. Gruden also will benefit from the Bucs' locking up their defensive coaching staff, including coordinator Monte Kiffin.

The Bucs defensive coaches have been promised three-year contract extensions that would keep them in Tampa Bay through the 2004 season, an incentive for missing out on other opportunities while the coaching searched dragged on.

The deal for Gruden was struck about 4 a.m. Monday (EST), only hours after the Glazers ended their meeting with Mariucci at Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel.

During that discussion, the Glazers offered Mariucci the coach and general manager's job and set the parameters of a four- to six-year contract at more than $5-million per year. But Mariucci appeared reluctant to leave the 49ers or the San Francisco Bay area, where his son is will start his senior year of high school in August.

Mariucci said when he left the Glazers, the mutual feeling was he wasn't going to take the Bucs job, prompting a late-night call from Joel Glazer to Raiders owner Al Davis around 1 a.m. (EST) Monday.

"We talked about contracts, but nothing had been agreed upon as far as solid numbers," Mariucci said Monday. "It was a generous offer, one among the best-paid, but they knew my family concerns."

The Bucs had agreed to send a first-round pick and second-round choice in 2002 and a second and third-rounder in 2003 to the 49ers for Mariucci. But Davis asked for the Bucs' best offer and sold the rights for them to talk to Gruden when the Glazers tossed in another No. 1 pick and cash.

"He said, "Look, we're close with Steve Mariucci. I want to make one more shot at Jon Gruden,' " Davis said, relating his conversation with Joel Glazer. "I said, "There are no more shots, Joel. I told you what it is. I don't want to negotiate. I don't want to bargain."

"We let Jon make the decision," Davis said. "If he wanted to go, we would let him, provided we got our demands."

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Davis felt his hand was forced to deal Gruden. If the 49ers received a package of four draft picks from the Bucs in exchange for Mariucci, they likely would have installed general manager Terry Donahue as coach for next season and been in a position to pursue Gruden in 2003.

Davis would have seen Gruden and the Bucs package of draft picks possibly go to the cross-bay rival Niners. Having already been stung by former Raiders coach Mike Shanahan landing with the AFC rival Denver Broncos, Davis jumped at the chance to send Gruden as far away from Oakland as possible.

The deal is a good one for Gruden, who avoids his lame duck status with one-year remaining on his contract with the Raiders.

Gruden has a 40-28 record in four seasons with the Raiders. He led the team to the AFC title game a year ago, and the Raiders lost this year in a second-round game to Super Bowl champion New England after blowing a 10-point lead in the final quarter.

"I was proud of the fact that he came on so strong as a coach and as a charismatic character," Davis said. "But I felt if this is what he wanted to do, if he wanted to go home, we could live with it based on the compensation that they were giving to us."

The hiring ends a search for the Glazers that sometimes bordered on the ridiculous and made them the laughingstock of the NFL. Mariucci was at least the eighth candidate the Bucs had approached since firing Tony Dungy Jan. 14. It began with Bill Parcells' decision not to come out of retirement. McKay interviewed LSU's Nick Saban, then-Ravens defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis, Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey and San Diego Chargers offensive coordinator Norv Turner.

McKay was unsuccessful in several attempts to lure Gruden from the Raiders and finally recommended Lewis for the job. He became furious when the Glazers refused to offer Lewis the job.

Since then, McKay has not been seen at One Buc Place. Tim Ruskell, the Bucs director of player personnel, was placed in charge of monitoring the Houston Texans expansion draft Monday in which longsnapper Sean McDermott was taken.

Gruden's job in Tampa Bay will be made daunting with the absence of any high draft picks the next two seasons. But much like the Raiders, the Bucs have a veteran team that seems poised to still make a Super Bowl run if Gruden can ignite the offense.

Bucs players, like most fans, expressed relief and renewed optimism over the hiring of Gruden.

"Jon Gruden is a proven guy and definitely on his way someplace," defensive end Simeon Rice said. "He's destined to go somewhere. This team has come from the ashes and proven that it can be dominant at times but has not gotten to the next level. Now, with Gruden, what seemed to be a debacle, what seemed to be the worst decision to make (to fire Dungy), they have saved their face and their identity."

-- Times staff writer Rogers Mills contributed to this report, which used information from other news organizations.

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