Raiders QB Coach Greg Olson OTAs #Raiders #GregOlson #genosmith #aidanoconnell #cammiller #tombrady

Raiders QB Coach Greg Olson OTAs #Raiders #GregOlson #genosmith #aidanoconnell #cammiller #tombrady

really, which is Elephant Gino. I mean, you get yourself a new quarterback, so many good things, throwing people open. He does a lot of really good stuff. How How would you evaluate him? Yeah, you know, obviously having a chance to work with him in Seattle. I’ve got a familiarity with him. I think he’s extremely competitive, intelligent, he’s accurate, uh got a lot of intangibles that you like about him, like a hard worker, great practice player, you know, um I can’t say enough good things about him in terms of to me the intangibles that he possesses. But, uh, on top of that, uh, um, great story really when you look at what what he went through in his career and, uh, the years he had in Seattle, um, very few players get that second opportunity and he made the most of it. So, um, I my in my year with him, I I couldn’t have asked for a a better student than than Gino was. He’s everything you’d look for as a coach. Uh, and again, he gives us a a top tier quarterback right now at this time of junction in his career. And talking to players up there, I told you who that that played with him. They talked about he here’s the star quarterback. He’s helping all the guys trying to make the practice squad. He’s helping defensive guys. Can you talk about Gino Smith away from the football, how big of an impact he has off the field? Yeah, you know, again, I I believe that was a humbling experience for him in New York and now he’s had a chance to kind of step back a little bit. He was able to step back in a in a backup role and different organizations behind different quarterbacks. He’ll speak highly and glowingly of Philip Rivers and what Philip Rivers meant to him uh and Russell Wilson when he went to Seattle. So, he’s had two premier quarterbacks in the league that that mentored him, you know, later on in his career. And I think that helped him tremendously, and he’d be the first guy to say that and to give credit to those two guys. And when he was in that backup role, not only was he, you know, he’s learning how to prepare in case he got that second opportunity, but I think he embraced the cities that he was living in and the franchise that he was working for. uh and just just to be the best version of Gino Smith and really um he took a lot of pride in understanding what his role was and he knew his role was to be a backup and try and help these guys become the best starters they can be yet at the same time prepping himself in case he got the opportunity to to start again. How would you describe Greg that relationship that Gino’s had with Pete and then how important is that that it translates onto the field for success? Uh super special. I think that the whole between both of them I think there’s a tremendous uh amount of trust between the two of them and I think in any relationship in life if you you don’t have trust you don’t have anything and so I know that uh certainly Gino trust Pete Pete trusts Gino and that’s a big part of of playing a position uh when you’re the starting quarterback um and again Pete gave him that opportunity you know I think it when when they made the decision in Seattle to to make Gino the starter and part ways with with Russ you know, that that showed Gino a lot. Wow, this guy’s got a lot of trust in me to to move on from someone like Russ, you know, and and and make me the starter. So, um, and and I feel like, you know, Pete, it was validated when he made Gino the starter and Gino came in and played extremely well for him those years. So, happy for both of them. I know they both they’ve got a great strong relationship and it but again, it all started with trust. What is it about this organization that keeps uh sucking you back in? God, you know, there it is. To me, it’s the most special organization all pro sports, not just football, but um the Raiders, you know, and what Al Davis meant and now, you know, Mark has done in bringing the the team here to Las Vegas, but it’s always been one of the most storied franchises in NFL history, it will be, you know, forever for me. I think uh oftentimes we’ll bring up stories uh on on players of the past that goes to the post and a lot of the great plays that have happened in Raider history and a lot of these players don’t know that and so I guess I found myself now as a historian trying to teach these players it’s not Kenny Stabler it’s Kenny Stabler you know so let’s try and get some of those things right you know and we’re looking at it but uh a lot of the you know a lot of the great memories that a lot of us I guess older older people have of of the NFL football really start with the Raiders and Al Davis. Uh Aiden has got to play a lot in two years, but with so many different voices in his head. I I have said, and if I’m wrong, I want you to tell me you disagree, but having Gino here is actually a blessing for him because Gino’s been through this. Now he gets to learn from somebody. And we live in a society that throws people away so fast. I think this is going to be a blessing for Aiden in disguise. Am I Am I overestimating that, Greg? No, I any question and I really talk about we talked earlier about understanding your role and for Aiden O’Connell to have played as much as he has with knowing that any of us have been a coaching professional Aiden didn’t get a lot of reps right now. He was the backup and that’s what he was and and all a sudden for him to step in and play a significant amount of steps says a lot and and and played pretty well really a Connell. So to me, here’s a guy that really got no reps in training camp and OTAAS and had to come in and step in the middle of a season in in a in a difficult season and play. And expectations, you know, don’t change for that position. They expect you to play well. They don’t care about where you’re drafted or how many reps you got. You got to come in and play well as a starting quarterback the NFL. So now his role understandably has changed. Uh he’s been great in the room with Gino. I know Gino appreciates him. He’s a real student of the game. Um, again, another intelligent intelligent player. Uh, picks up concepts quickly, works his, uh, rear end off in practice. So, uh, brings a lot to the table in terms of his tangibles, but I also know that the intelligent mindset part of his game, I think, is going to help Gino and and the two of them together, uh, I think is is great for the quarterback room. Going back to being here again, what was the first day? What’s the first day walking back in here like? It feels great. You know, again, I I didn’t want to leave. Yeah. you know, and three years ago, I did not want to leave. So, uh, to get the opportunity, I tell my kids, if there’s one thing you should learn about this lesson in life is don’t burn bridges, uh, when you leave somewhere and and you’re forced to leave somewhere. So, uh, certainly it it didn’t end the way I wanted it to uh, after the last time I was here, uh, in a playoff loss. Uh, but we were proud of a lot of things that we’d accomplished that season and it hurt it hurt to leave. Um, so I’m just really really thankful for the opportunity to be back. Greg, as somebody that’s coached with Pete before, something that stands out about him seems to be his ability to relate with not just players, but also coaches, just his human, you know, connectivity skills. Um, you know, he’s able to do that even when there’s a big age guy, you know, with a rookie and he’s in his 70s. What What goes into that as a coach being able to connect with people in the world? I think he’s just so up to date with what’s going on in the world to be honest with you. He can talk to you about a number of different subjects whether it be music or entertainment or sports or politics. He stays on top of everything. It’s as if he’s and I’m sure he a very well- read man. You know, he can again carry on a conversation with a with a 10-year-old or a 95year-old and and he can relate to rich uh poor, white, black, young, old. Uh he does it all. But I think you have to be in tune with what’s going on in society really uh if you if you want to have that kind of impact on people. and he’s able to do that. He’s incredible at it. Is there a moment working with him that kind of sums up his coaching style? You know, me from afar, I’ve just I’ve known about him from afar and we had a lot of common friends. Uh but I’d never had an opportunity to work with him. And I think sometimes you hear people explain uh or try to define someone and say, “Well, well, he is who he is. He’s not there’s nothing phony about him.” When you see on television, that’s who he is. And then when you get a chance to to finally be with that person and realize, oh, that is who he is. He’s uh extremely motivated. He’s extremely positive. His message is always positive. Uh that doesn’t mean he’s he’s not competitive or hard, but um it’s going to be a positive message in the end to try to get you to to be best of your ability. So, um, there really wasn’t a defining moment because I had known so much about him and and had read, you know, I’m I’m a big reader on on coaching books and I’d read a lot of things that he had written and things that he had said. So, there wasn’t anything that was a defining moment. I was just again, I felt fortunate to have a chance to work with him in Seattle and then certainly get another opportunity here in Las Vegas. Can you walk me through what the call was like to come back to this team and your reaction to it? Again, I I it’s said to these guys, I I I uh it was difficult for me to have left, you know, three seasons ago. So, uh I was ecstatic uh when uh Pete had given me a call in the offseason and told me that he was interested in getting back into it and had maybe a possible opportunities at a couple franchises and one of them he mentioned was Las Vegas and uh so excited I guess would be an understatement. Um, I enjoyed my time here certainly. Uh, love the city, love the franchise, love the Raiders, uh, but a chance to come back to Las Vegas and and be in this division, which I think is the the best division in pro football and have a chance to go try and beat Patrick Mahomes again and and Herbert and now we got Bo Nick. So very competitive division, but uh, I’m just real thankful for, you know, Mark Davis again, give me another opportunity to come back. So nothing but elation really when I found out he’s going to have the opportunity to come back. talk about some of the comparisons and contrast between the team, you know, when you left versus now in terms of what do you find that’s kind of like still remains you that you like and things that are different that you like. I like Max Crosby and and I like Colton Miller. you know, there’s very, you know, unfortunate for for me because again, I had a lot of positive, you know, memories of, you know, my last season here, but there very few faces. Uh, Malcolm Coun and and Max and and really offensively, you’re just talking about Colton Miller is the the lone player that’s remaining. So, a lot of new faces. There’s a lot of familiar faces in the building in terms of the the training room and the and equipment staff and the and the strength staff. uh and that made the trans has made the transition much easier for me. Had a real close relationship with those departments. So um but as far as the players really it’s it’s totally different. There’s really very very little carryover. You spoke about the competition of the quarterbacks in the AFC West. Obviously Gino, you know, has had the experience. He’s a season veteran. How do you see his skill set in helping the Raiders climb up this division with the quarterbacks that you previously mentioned? Well, again, he’s a veteran player. He’s seen a lot. He’s experienced a lot as a player and I think he’s learned a lot because of that those experiences. So, uh I mentioned early on he’s competitive, he’s intelligent, he’s accurate and worked from those first those things first three things to start with. Uh and then all the experience that he’s gained through his years is playing as a rookie and then getting to back up some of the two of the best players in in Pro Football history to me and Philip Rivers and and Russ Wilson. So, um, he’s a he’s a grizzled veteran, I guess, and and he’s learned a lot and and he’s still got a chance to be better because his body hasn’t taken a lot of hits over the years. You know, he sat for a long time and and didn’t play. So, I think health healthwise he’s in a great place and mindset wise he’s in a great place as well. Greg, talk about Cam Miller if you would, please. Just I mean, obviously it a lot of work to go into becoming what he can be, but man, he’s got some of those things he can’t teach. Yeah, for sure. uh coming from a winning program. You know, there’s something to be said about kids that come from winning programs, no matter what level it is, 1A, 1A, NIA. Uh he’s won. So, he’s proven that uh he can get behind the center and and move a football team. Uh now, the game’s changed. There’s a lot of guys that win in college and and they don’t have that type of success in the NFL. But, uh he’s a quick study. I think he’s got uh some guys in the room. Again, we mentioned both Aiden and Gino being very intelligent players and um he’s an intelligent player as well. He’s battling with Carter Bradley who’s the son of a coach. Uh so he’s surrounded by three uh good mentors in my mind. They’re going to help him through this process. But u they did a great job with him coaching, you know, at at the division 2 level and and again I don’t think the stage will be too big for him. We hear a lot about Tom Brady’s influence in the front office. Do you feel that on the field as well? Yeah, you know, he uh when I first got hired, you I had a chance to visit with with him uh by phone uh and we visited about the current quarterbacks and then the draftable quarterbacks. Uh and then it it kind of semi went quiet, but but um we still communicate via telephone. He wants to know what’s going on in a in a real positive way. He showed up this week, you know, for the first time uh since he came through right before the draft. uh and he’s, you know, watching the practices in the OTAAS right now, but he’s been a tremendous resource, not only for me, but I think for the quarterbacks as well. Uh they all have him on on their phone, on their contact list. Uh and he’s very open to answering questions or helping in any way he can with that position. So, I think we’re certainly fortunate. I am as a coach, as a quarterback coach, but I know the players feel the same way that they’ve got that kind that resource in in in a player like Tom Brady. So, fortunate. already been asked this before I left over here. What would you say is the draw you back to behind you come back to for me? For you was the I just Yeah, I just I love the organization. You know, I grew up loving the organization to me and again I’m I’m aging myself here, but you know, you grow up as a kid and there was very few organizations uh that were like the Raiders, you know, and what the what Al Davis uh you know, built here, built in Oakland and and built with the organization. And I just don’t I just think and I’ve worked at a you know fortunate or unfortunate I’ve worked for a lot of organizations but there’s none has been as special as the as a Raiders organization in terms of the history and and uh everything they brought to pro football and everything that Al Davis brought to football and now certainly seeing the growth that Mark has now taken this this team and by bringing it to Las Vegas. So it’s one of the most iconic franchises in all of sports, not just not just pro football. That’s what I think to me it’s like, you know, to talk to Danny, it’s one of the coolest franchises in all of professional sports and feel fortunate, you know, to have an opportunity to come back. Greg, Max Crosby, in my opinion, the best defensive player in the NFL, but you can’t have every player with his personality. So, when you have a Gino that’s going to get in here early, gonna stay here late like Max, watch his film, smart, he doesn’t have to be a screamer and a cusser. has to it’s a different position but they have the same mindset maybe a different way of going about it. Would you talk about how important it is that you got that in your quarterback? There’s no question when you look again at the history of the position and the cerebral players you know at that position when you look at the the Tom Bradies and the Pton Mannings and the Drew Brees and players that we mentioned Russell Wilson or Philip Rivers there’s a really a cerebral part of playing a position. It’s not an emotional position. There’s emotional times that come about. Uh but they have to really that that singular focus, singular mindset focus at the quarterback position and taking some of the emotion out of it so that you can think clearly and play clearly. I think it’s important and uh again history would suggest it is those guys that have that cerebral mindset not mean they’re not competitive or they’re not firing competitive but they understand that it it’s a one play at a time proposition here. and I’ve got to be focused and clear, you know, on every play. So, um, we call it quarterback character. There’s football character and there’s quarterback character. And I think those are two different things. Um, and so that’s what you’re looking for, those guys that that possess those traits that can, again, you taught, we talked about Pete Carol, but the ability to relate to everybody in the locker room, and that’s what you got to have as a quarterback. You can’t just be to one certain group or uh you know whether it be again age, race, you know, whatever. They they have to relate to everybody and that’s those guys are hard to find. You are an elite quarterback coach in this league. You’re one of the best. You don’t get there by not knowing how to manage people. So I I have a great question that I’ve always wanted to know about you. You know what guys and at what times to jump in their face. And you know, good to see you. And you know, at what times to back off and let a guy work himself through a problem? Obviously, you had to learn that, but what is that magic sauce that you have? I’ve had tremendous mentors. I’ I’ve said that. I really believe um I you know, and again, Pete Carol being one of them, although he’s not a most people would look at Pete as a defensive guy, but he is, you know, I think the head coaches that can again, they have to be able to relate to the quarterback. I I don’t care if you’re offensive or defensive coach. You have to be able to relate to the quarterback. And and to me, I I feel like I’ve had three Super Bowl winning coaches my my last nine years of working. I’ve had Shawn McVey, I’ve had John Guden, I’ve had Pete Carol, all Super Bowl. Great coach. Yeah. Great coaches. And really, you look at Shawn and you look at John. Those are, you know, John is my biggest mentor. And I felt like he just has a way again of communicating with those guys. And he helped me a lot along the way. Joe Tiller at Purdue University was a guy that that really showed me kind of the way to uh you know helped me as a mentor in coaching quarterbacks at Purdue on on uh when to push the right buttons and how to push the right button. I should have remembered that as a Spartan. I should have remembered that. I should have remembered that. You made me miserable. I I I want to go back to Cam for one quick second. I’m not pretending that he isn’t where he is. Okay? So, I’m not I’m not generating or making a controversy. There isn’t. But he’s got a lot of intangibles. Would you talk about his intangibles just I mean like you watch film and from the ankles up he looks like an NFL quarterback. I know you’re you’re going to work with him on feet and everything else. You you watch sometimes he’ll last second he has an ability to look off guys. You normally don’t see it at that level. Am I misreading the film? No, no, no. uh obviously a talented player in a lot of different respects, but I think going back to the intangibles, I think that was one of the biggest things that John Spitech and Pete Carroll and and really even Tom, you know, in in terms of evaluating that position, the intangibles came first. You can’t ascend to a the highest level in all of sports unless you have the those intangibles. It just doesn’t happen. If you talk to Tom Brady and Payton and Drew and the greatest Joe Montana, the greatest players to play that position, all their coaches would speak about their intangibles. And so, it starts there. And I think that’s what those guys did a great job in the initial evaluation. Uh let’s not just get, you know, let’s look at the production and and and just stare at the production and evaluate it based on that. Let’s start with the intangibles first and then see if it matches the production. and uh he’s certainly had a great career in college and and tangibles are a big part of it. Last question for me is about Gino. Uh you don’t want a running quarterback who takes off too quick. Patrick Mahomes, that’s what makes him so deadly. He will stay into the last second. Gino has really become that kind of guy. He I don’t rely on my legs, but I’m more than willing to use him. To me, I think that is something about his game that does not get enough attention. the fact he can run, but he no longer looks for it. He He thinks like a pocket quarterback who when that switch goes then can run. Would you discuss that, please? Yeah, I think that’s what you’re looking for. He’s sneaky athletic. You know, again, you wouldn’t think of him as a RPO or a running quarterback, but he’s athletic enough that when he does, he’s a real weapon. And so, uh, as much as we love him as a drop back guy, we need him to get two or three first downs with his feet a game. And, uh, he’s willing to do that. You know, you got to be willing to do that too as a quarterback and and he’s willing to do that and and he’s a better athlete again than most people give him credit for. Awesome. Thank you, Greg.

Raiders QB Coach Greg Olson OTAs #Raiders #GregOlson #genosmith #aidanoconnell #cammiller #tombrady