After Jon Gruden held his introductory press conference with the Raiders back in January, one big question that remained unanswered was whether or not Marshawn Lynch would be returning to Oakland in 2018. 

Although Gruden was asked about Lynch's future, the Raiders' new coach admitted that he had never met Beast Mode and that he wasn't sure what would happen going forward. 

"I'm anxious to sit down with Marshawn and meet him and we'll talk about his future and the Raiders," Gruden said on Jan. 9. "I can't wait. He came back to the Raiders for similar reasons, I think, that I did: I think he loves Oakland, I think he loves the Raiders, and guys like him interest me, so I'm looking forward to talking to him."

It's now been six weeks since Gruden's press conference, and although he has met with Lynch since then, the running back's future is still up in the air. If Lynch wants to play for the Raiders in 2018, it sounds like Gruden is going to want more effort than what he saw from Beast Mode in 2017. 

During a conversation with a Raiders fan that took place while Gruden was doing an interview for MMQB.com, Gruden didn't exactly disagree when the fan mentioned that Lynch wasn't really in game shape until about Week 10 last season. 

"We're not going to have that," Gruden said. "No."

During a one-on-one conversation with Lynch, Gruden explained to Beast Mode that he would need to take on a bigger role in 2018. 

"I said to him: 'I need Marshawn Lynch. I don't need this part-time Lynch. I need full-time Lynch,'" Gruden said, via MMQB.com. 

From the sound of it, Gruden wants Lynch to return only if he's willing to put in the time it takes to be an every down back for the Raiders.

"We need the real deal," Gruden said. "If you're going to put those letters on the back of your jersey, man, you've got to back it up, Marshawn -- right? We don't need another back, we need a feature back."

Although Lynch handled the bulk of the carries in Oakland last season, he did share time in the Raiders' backfield with Jalen Richard and DeAndre Washington, who each carried the ball more than 55 times in 2017. If Lynch does return, don't be surprised if some of those carries end up going back to Lynch. 

"We've got to get him in, ah, better and stronger, through the season," Gruden said of Lynch. 

One reason it's been tough for Gruden to figure out what to do with Lynch is because he hasn't gotten to work out with him yet. Due to the NFL's offseason rules, Gruden isn't really allowed to have any football-related conversations with any of his players until April, which can be a big negative when you're a coach who's returning to the sideline for the first time in 10 years. 

The good news for Gruden is that he won't have to wait much longer until he's actually able to coach his players. Under rules of the CBA, any team that hires a new coach gets to start their offseason program before anyone else, which means Gruden and the Raiders will be able to begin their offseason workout programs on April 2. For any team that didn't hire a new coach, the starting date is April 16.