Jon Gruden rests on laurels, for one day.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)

ALAMEDA, Calif. _ Jon Gruden treated himself after his team clinched its first division title in 10 seasons. He did something he wouldn't normally do after his battered team secured a much-needed first-round playoff bye. He got a little crazy; maybe even a little selfish.

He took the day off.

"You can only imagine what it's like to wake up on Christmas morning with three little boys who have been waiting for Santa Claus_and I mean waiting for Santa Claus," the Raiders coach said. "They knew I didn't have to go to work, and I knew we were the AFC West champs. There's nothing better than that."

We've all heard about Gruden's legendary work ethic by now. After three years in Oakland, we know all about how he requires only 12 minutes of sleep per night. We know how he likes to diagram plays on napkins in his spare time and his idea of a good time involves a VCR and a videotape entitled: "1999 Punt Returns."

We're not talking about somebody who has successfully balanced his professional and personal lives. For Gruden, the former dominates the latter.

Knowing this, no one would be surprised if he attempted to go an entire week without closing his eyes. These are the playoffs, after all, and he knows as well as anyone that opportunities such as the one he and his team are facing can be few and far between.

But Gruden swears he won't be any more obsessive leading up to Saturday's divisional playoff game against visiting Miami. Then again, he doesn't need to be. He's so obsessive during the regular season that it's impossible for him to ratchet up the intensity by watching more film during the playoffs.