The Las Vegas Raiders offense is going to have to undergo a transformation in the middle of the season. Chip Kelly is out as offensive coordinator, and quarterbacks coach Greg Olson has taken over playcalling duties.
This will be the third time that Olson has been tasked with calling plays for the Raiders, and the second time he’s had to take over in the middle of the season. The last time it happened, Derek Carr was still the starting quarterback for Las Vegas.
Olson was also Carr’s offensive coordinator when he first came into the NFL. He is a big fan of the coach.
“He is awesome,” Carr said of Olson on the “Home Grown” podcast.
Carr knows Olson’s offensive tendencies well. There’s only so much the coach can change in the middle of the year, but Carr gave some insight into how things could be different with Olson as the playcaller.
“It’ll be more natural. It’ll definitely be more pro-style, more West Coast … like the protection stuff, he is the one who taught me,” Carr added.
Carr gave a further breakdown of what Olson brings to the Raiders offense in the video below.
Olson Talks Relationship With Geno Smith
Olson was the obvious choice to take over for Kelly, as he was with Pete Carroll and Geno Smith on the Seattle Seahawks in 2023. He wasn’t with them for a long time, but he has familiarity with both.
Olson is excited for the chance to finally call plays for Smith.
“I’m thankful that I had a relationship with him in Seattle,” Olson said of Smith, “and thankful that I had an opportunity to work with him in Seattle … but it certainly makes things easier again. I think any time that you’re with a first-time quarterback and coming into a new place with a new quarterback, there has to be that trust that’s established between a playcaller or between a quarterback coach and the quarterback, and that was established before he came here. So, I’m certainly comfortable with our relationship, and he and I both are on the same page, and we know that we’ve got to get better as well in the quarterback room.”
Smith Expects ‘Great Things’ With Olson
It’s been a tough season for Smith, who was expected to be an upgrade at quarterback for the Raiders. He’s played very poorly, which has led to him getting into it with Raiders fans. He’s hoping that the offense will finally turn things around with a change at playcaller.
“Well, the play caller will now be right next to me, so I think the communication, I won’t have to get on the headset or talk on the phone,” Smith said. “I can just talk directly to him. And other things we’ll have to figure out as it goes. I mean, it’s the first time he’s calling plays for us, for me particularly, so I have to learn those things as we go.
“I think there’ll be a lot of benefits, and I think, again, Oly [Greg Olson] is a guy who’s done it, and I think he knows what to do and how to do it, so I expect great things.”
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