'Coaching Was in the Cards': Brock Olivo Details Journey to Coaching Career

A lot went into a former Missouri running back and now hall-of-famer's journey to the sidelines.

Nov 19, 2017; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos special teams coordinator Brock Olivo in the third quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Brock Olivo was an extremely productive player for the Missouri Tigers from 1994 to 1997. A short professional playing career from 1998 to 2002 quickly led him onto the sidelines as an assistant coach. He's now an important part of Missouri's coaching staff as a special teams assistant, helping out special teams coordinator Erik Link.

Because of his accomplishments, Olivo was inducted into the Mizzou Athletics Hall of Fame last week. This happened because of his playing career as a running back with the Tigers, but Olivo's new journey is just as fascinating.

"My playing days are long gone, and I reflect on myself often at certain times where, as a coach, right now, all I want is [the] best for our current players," Olivo said Friday. "I want them to have the same type of experience I had here in Missouri."

Olivo knew he would end up coaching in some capacity once he was done playing. This stemmed from his father, who spent multiple years as the head football coach for Marquette High School in Clarkson Valley, Missouri.

Olivo has built up quite the resume for a young coach already, starting his career in Italy and slowly making his way to the NFL, and now venturing into college.

"Coaching was definitely in the cards for me from a young age," Olivo said." My father was a coach for 30-plus years on a high school level."

When Olivo is able to reflect on his time at Missouri and his childhood, too, the lessons he takes away from coaching and watching his dad coach make the lessons he's learned much clearer. Those are things that still stick with him to this day.

"The satisfaction he got watching his players grow and evolve and improve, and still to this day, that's just invaluable," Olivo said.

While looking back on his playing career with the Tigers and then ending up as an assistant is quite the full-circle moment for Olivo. The former running back poured a lot into the football program as a player, and now he gets to help other athletes do the same.

"It's really good, because you feel like you invested and you got a really good ROI (return on investment)," Olivo said. "I feel like that four-year journey here, I was walking alongside really good coaches."

His journey has led him to Columbia for the second time in his career, this time working under head coach Eli Drinkwitz. Olivo believes he's in the midst of an incredible head coach, one who's impressed him for the time he's been with Drinkwitz.

"Drink is incredible," Olivo said. "Not only at X's and O'x, but management. I think he's hiring a perfect staff."

Drinkwitz can get the most out of his coaching staff, including Olivo, by pushing them as hard as he can and as frequently as he can. The growth Olivo's experienced under Drinkwitz, in his own eyes, has been exponential.

"He's challenging us on a daily basis," Olivo said. "I've grown more in my last few seasons at Mizzou than I have in my entire coaching career."