Behind the subplot of the Jon Gruden-Bill Callahan debate during Super Bowl XXXVII, the coach-player debate is the ultimate story behind the game between the Raiders and Buccaneers. Gruden turned a struggling Raiders team into a winner, but he felt his time in Oakland was ending.

So Gruden refused to sign a contract extension. Al Davis got a call from the Bucs, who never made a Super Bowl even though Tony Dungy turned them into a winner. Davis had a choice. He could have kept Gruden for a year and let him go or he could have traded him to Tampa for four draft choices and $8 million.

	Jon Gruden and his coaching staff will be busy this week.

Davis went for the trade, and now finds himself in the Super Bowl. But standing in the way is the coach who turned the Bucs into a Super Bowl team. It's pretty obvious that the coach made the players champions in Tampa. Davis promoted Callahan because he maintained Gruden's system and gave the Raiders player the easiest environment to go to the Super Bowl.

But if the Raiders lose, fans will be upset because Gruden will get the Super Bowl ring. Interesting dilemma.

The Gruden-Callahan story is huge. Though they worked together since the early 1990s, each went their separate ways since last February. Gruden had to leave his coaching staff in Oakland. He kept Dungy's defensive staff and he reworked the offense, but most of the work he did himself.

He's installed a grind-it-out-type of offense even though there is not much of a running attack. Because of a bad offensive line that only started playing decently in the final four games, Gruden had to limit the number of receivers he could send out because pass protection was poor.

As the season developed, though, Brad Johnson got better and better. He felt more comfortable running Gruden's plays. Timing started to develop. The offensive line got better.

In Oakland, Callahan threw away conservatism. He implanted a complex passing offense that rides on the decision making of MVP Rich Gannon. Unlike Gruden, Callahan could rely on a great offensive line. This was a big line that can overpower teams in running situations and provide plenty of time in passing sets.

Remember, two years ago, the Raiders led the league in rushing. This year they led the league in passing.

Where Callahan has to worry is that his offense has the earmarks of a run-and-shoot type of system. In the AFC championship game, Callahan had only one called running play in the first three quarters. Passing offenses tend to slow down in the red zone, and Callahan can't afford that to happen in the Super Bowl.

Regardless, this game is a case study for what ultimately works in the NFL. If the Raiders win, it's the players. If it's the Bucs, it's the coach. It will be a fascinating game. Here are 10 things to watch:

1. Adjustment game: Both teams must have substantial adjustments in their game plans. If they weren't planning to make adjustments, neither team would have pushed to close practices during team drills to the assigned pool reporter. Gruden's strength is his motion packages on offense. He must have a few trick plays that are so different from anything they've shown in the past that they didn't want to unveil it to one reporter. Callahan, meanwhile, has become very creative with his alignments. Late in the season, he's had as many as seven offensive linemen on the field at the same time to try to get a jumbo formation that could overpower defensive lines. Against the Jets, Callahan put in a bunch of plays in which linemen Matt Stinchcomb or Langston Walker actually went into pass routes and caught the football.

2. Don't go crazy: There may be a tendency for each coach to try to overdo their preparation and try to do too much. Gruden and Callahan have worked so long together that they know each others strengths and weaknesses. They know strengths and weaknesses of their decision making. But if the game becomes one in which one coach tries to just wow the other with fancy play calls, the more imaginative coach might be the one to lose. Remember, this is a Super Bowl. Nerves tend to be a little fragile. Players have more of a tendency to make mistakes.

3. Game within the game: The best game might be between Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon and the switching of the Bucs' secondary. The Bucs had one of the best seasons by a secondary in NFL history. They picked off 31 passes. The Eagles lost the chance to go to the Super Bowl because they tried to attack the secondary instead of run the ball. Gannon normally audibles about 10 plays a game, but he has the ability to switch off to other plays when he gets to the line of scrimmage. It's hard to game plan against him because a lot of time Gannon can't tell you what play he might ultimately call. Many of his best plays are those in which he sees something in a pre-snap read, and he makes a big play.

4. Unsung heroes: Two of the most understated players who will play a pivotal role in this game are Bucs cornerback Brian Kelly and Bucs defensive end Greg Spires. Kelly intercepted eight passes, roughly half of them in zone defense and the other half in man. Spires is better at containing quarterbacks who can scramble, and even though Gannon may not be as fleet afoot as he was in the old days, he still can run out of the pocket.

5. Porter power: The most pressured receiver on the field for either team will be the Raiders' Jerry Porter. He's become a big-play threat this season and is on the verge of becoming a star. Porter makes high, leaping catches and can beat any cornerback in one-on-one coverage. His use in the three-receiver formations often get him on the field more than reliable Tim Brown. Porter dropped a sure touchdown pass in the AFC championship game, but aside from that he played a great game. In three-receiver sets, though, Porter may draw the Bucs' best cornerback, Ronde Barber, who may go against him in the slot.

6. Man to man: The best one-on-one matchup is Bucs left guard Frank Middleton going against Bucs defensive tackle Warren Sapp. That might be the most pivotal matchup on the field. If Middleton can contain Sapp's inside rushes, Gannon may have all day to throw the pass. Of course, Gannon has to worry about Simeon Rice beating Raiders left tackle Barry Sims, but Sapp can disrupt an offense by ripping apart the inside protection.

7. Pressure points: Callahan's toughest decision is how he wants to use the one major advantage he has on the field. Callahan's big offensive line is his best weapon because the Bucs' success is getting pressure using only four defensive linemen rushing the passer and having seven defenders drop into coverage. If the Bucs four can't pressure Gannon, the Raiders win. But Callahan knows that big offensive lines can beat the Bucs because they are light on the defensive line. Any big line that can get 35 rushing attempts can wear down the Bucs' line, which may have the best range of any defensive line in football but there aren't many wide bodies. Gannon isn't fond of running the ball much, so Callahan may stay with the pass.

8. Getting defensive: Several of the members of the Buccaneer secondary want to clear up a misconception. They may have the most advanced form of the league's "Cover 2" zone defense, but they really aren't a "Cover 2" team. Cornerback Dwight Smith estimates that they are in "Cover 2" only 40 percent of the time. With Dungy gone, defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin calls more zone blitzes and man-to-man coverages.

9. Charles in charge? The success of the Raiders defense may depend on how cornerback Charles Woodson feels Sunday morning. Woodson is struggling since coming back from a broken leg. He had a plate surgically inserted into his lower right leg. He played well in the first week of the playoff, but had three penalties and a bad performance in the AFC championship game. Woodson says he will play great because it's the Super Bowl. But if he struggles early, Woodson might have to rebound from the bench.

10. Raider nation: The Raiders will have a home-field edge. During the regular season, the Raiders had a preview to what it would be like in the Super Bowl. They were playing the Chargers, who created a ridiculous ticket policy to keep Raiders fans out of the season. They made San Diego people who wanted tickets to the Raiders game purchase two additional game tickets. The Chargers fans scalped the Raiders tickets to fans in Southern Calfornia. The Raiders fans brought with them the other tickets and ripped them up at the stadium. Chargers players thought 60 percent of the crowd cheered for the Raiders. With the right scalpers, the Raiders could turn this into a home field. And yes, they will have fights. Raiders players used to marvel at how Raiders fans beat up Chargers fans in the stands during games.

John Clayton is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.