THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- Sean McVay was asked if he would be looking forward to coaching against his mentor, Jon Gruden, next season. McVay smiled wryly and shook his head.

"No."

Like it or not, it's happening. Gruden was introduced as the Oakland Raiders' head coach on Tuesday. And McVay's Los Angeles Rams will travel to face them this coming season, something McVay went on to call "a fun, humbling opportunity." Gruden gave McVay his first job in the NFL, as a 22-year-old coaching assistant for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2008. That ended up being Gruden's last year coaching, before serving nearly a decade as ESPN's "Monday Night Football" analyst.

The Raiders brought Gruden back with a 10-year deal approaching $100 million.

"Great coach, great motivator, great leader, great teacher in terms of just understanding the big picture," McVay said. "He's gotten exposed to a lot of different things."

Gruden previously coached the Raiders from 1998 to 2001, then beat them in Super Bowl XXXVII to end his first of seven seasons steering the Buccaneers. Many, inside and outside the Rams, refer to McVay as "Mini Gruden." His cadence and mannerisms are similar, the intensity and intention of his speech a spitting image.

From Gruden, McVay -- who later worked under Gruden's brother, Jay, with the Washington Redskins -- learned how to lead and learned how to understand the game from a 22-man perspective. He called him "a great communicator" and someone who is "more than capable" of being a successful head coach despite his time away from the sidelines.

"I can't say enough about Jon and what he's done," McVay said, "and what he's been able to teach me and kind of the way he put his arm around me and taught me this game."

Like many, McVay is curious about the way Gruden will run his offense; whether it will look similar to what he implemented in prior coaching stints, or if it will be tweaked based on what he gleaned during his time in the booth.

"Either way, hate the fact that we'll have to go against him next year," McVay said. "It will be fun, but he's a great coach, and you see why Oakland is so excited about being able to get him back to the Raiders."