Las Vegas Raiders Safeties Coach Gerald Alexander from OTAs

The Las Vegas Raiders safeties coach Gerald Alexander spoke after OTAs, and we have everything he said for you.

HENDERSON, Nev.--The Las Vegas Raiders are experiencing an offseaon in which the entire franchise is engulfed in optimism, as Mark Davis has set the sail of the ship in one direction, led by GM Tom Telesco, and ultimately Coach Antonio Pierce.

That optimism set the groundwork for something special in 2024, and that sense of optimism is prevalent everywhere in the organization.

The Las Vegas Raiders safeties coach Gerald Alexander spoke after OTAs, and we have everything he said for you.

You can watch the entire press conference below and read the transcript:

Safeties Coach Gerald Alexander

Q: The safeties you guys had last year in Marcus Epps and Tre'von Moehrig, what do you think is the next step in this tandem? Coach Alexander: "The next step for them is just to continue to develop as communicators, to provide clarity for everybody that's on the field and just kind of taking the next step in regards to how they play ball and how we say, 'It's above the neck.' Some of the plays that they have an opportunity to make or put their teammates in positions to be able to make them, I think is really the next step for not only themselves, but really for the rest of the defense as we go forward."

Q: Traditionally we kind of think of linebackers as a communicator on defense, the guy wearing the green dot. How have safeties sort of stepped more into that role in recent years, and is that kind of a result of the passing game being what it is? Coach Alexander: "100%. I think the passing game being such a significant part of our game, and the safeties have always been kind of primary communicators in a lot of the defenses that I've experienced because they have the most depth. They're the ones that are going to be able to understand the adjustments and certain communications and certain defenses that lead to different adjustments or just making their teammates aware of the possibility of certain things that they're going to do offensively and putting themselves and their teammates in positions to be able to go make plays. So, it's always one of those things that we always talk about, just to try to continue to develop, to put our guys in positions to make plays."

Q: You talked about the development and coming together. How important is that continuity of being together again for another season? Coach Alexander: "It's huge. We're obviously learning each other. I'm new to the room, but the continuity is very important as we continue to build. Obviously some new staff, new people in the room in regards to myself or Ricky Manning, and so the continuity with the guys for the relationships that they already have and they're continuing to build throughout this process is very important as we move forward."

Q: The play of the safeties last year that we talked about, Marcus Epps and Tre'von Moehrig, kind of meant some of the younger guys like Christopher Smith in particular, maybe took a red shirt a little bit, but he's somebody that the Raiders obviously invested a draft pick in and has aspirations for. How do you go about kind of keeping him engaged knowing that maybe the playing time was limited last year, could be the same situation this year, in order to be ready if the number gets called? Coach Alexander: "Everybody is in the process of development, regardless of their experience last year, and we can't eat off of last year's plate. So, my job is to provide whatever information that they need in order to develop to be the players that we need them to be for the 2024 season and really starting from the foundation. Whether it be Tre'von [Moehrig], whether it be Marcus [Epps], whether it be Chris [Smith], my job is to just provide all the insight and the information and the detail and obviously the cultural execution that we need to be able to display from how we go about our business to develop anybody whenever their number is called. Our situation is 'Hey, whatever you're on the grass, then you are responsible to be able to play at a high level.' So, whatever that number is called, it's my responsibility and their responsibility to get themselves ready because you never know when you're going to be needed, and when that opportunity comes, man you've got to take advantage of it."

Q: Can you talk about yourrelationship with Antonio Pierce so far, especially with both of you two being in the league? Also, can you talk about the different command of attention you've experienced from being a player to know coaching these guys? Coach Alexander: "Well I've known AP [Antonio Pierce] since our interactions when I was at Cal and he was at Arizona State, and I obviously respect him not only in his coaching climb, but just him as a player. So, just being a former player, you've looked through the lenses that these guys are currently going through, and there's a certain level of insight that you can kind of relate to them in regards to where they are in their journey and just understanding maybe some of the mistakes and be able to understand how you coach them, but I don't lean on that. It's my job to provide the clarity and development and things like that for their success. So, whether it be me, and obviously with AP, he's done an awesome job in regards to doing the same thing as he's now our leader going forward and just providing that relatability, that example, that push. The things that he provided as a teammate, he's now doing so as the leader of an organization. So, I can appreciate the opportunity to have this opportunity to lead this group."

Q: Thoughts on Isaiah Pola-Mao going into the season and how he's looking early on in the offseason? It seems like he does good whenever he does get some opportunities? Coach Alexander: "I mean, the thing that Isaiah [Pola-Mao] is doing and really all of them, but more specifically talking about Isaiah, the game is slowing down for him because his ability to understand the game a little bit better, understanding the threats, understanding his responsibilities, understanding his keys and the way that he needs to react, and also himself as a communicator and just having a deeper understanding as we continue to move forward, as we continue to develop throughout this process to elevate his play and elevate our play. He's been doing a good job this spring, and those are things that we're going to be relying on as he continues to develop for us in the very near future because he's going to be somebody that we're going to be looking to count on."

Q: Because you have your safeties obviously study the passing game, do you sort of rely on the quarterbacks also to establish a relationship and communication to understand the nuances of the pass game, and if so, what sort of conversations would you like them to have? Coach Alexander: "For the safeties and the quarterback? Yeah, I think that as we build organically, I would love for those guys to have conversations with one another just especially when it comes to like disguising and what did the quarterback see and what are their progressions when the safeties present certain things to them and how can we utilize that information for our betterment, just being able to obviously competing against some of the better quarterbacks that are in this league, really on a routine basis. So, that information and hopefully those guys are having conversations organically in the locker room to just be able to continue to try to get as much information for themselves and their development as possible, because it's only going to help us."

Q: How beneficial is it for you and the staff to be able to take a break during practice and go and look at film in real time to kind of do some teaching while the guys are taking a break at the same time? Coach Alexander: "It's awesome because you get the instant feedback. So, it's instant information that those guys can go watch and it kind of simulates some things obviously not from a visual standpoint as far as having the visual, but it kind of simulates some things that you can do in play in between series - take a look at some things that did go right did go wrong, some adjustments that probably need to be made. And then after a little bit of a break, you go out there and you try to execute maybe some things or some changes or clean up some details that necessarily didn't get executed prior to that. So, it's a great opportunity for teaching and for educating the guys and continuing to move forward as we go into the later half of practice to try to see if we can make whatever adjustments that are necessary for us to go out there and get that thing done."

Q: You look at Marcus Epps, even in Philadelphia you couldn't get him off the field. Last year, you couldn't get him off the field. Part of that is durability obviously, but also just can't take him off the field because obviously he's doing what he's supposed to. What's his secret? What is what makes him a player that is so invaluable out there? Coach Alexander: "He plays a clean game, and what I mean by that is he does all the little things right? First and foremost having a really good understanding of what his responsibility is, where he's supposed to be, having an understanding of how to move out there on the field, getting his alignment and his teammates in positions to also do the things that they need to do. That's what it comes down to, being a primary role of a communicator. And so, when you have that guy out there on the field as a coach, as a play caller, like PG [Patrick Graham], you trust that individual. You trust that individual not only to get himself and his teammates right and maybe even put us defensively in a better situation in regards to maybe some of the responsibilities we give him to audible out of certain plays and get us into other plays that we want to do from a game plan standpoint. So, when you have a guy like that out there on the field, it's really hard to take them off because you understand some of the value that he can give you that doesn't always reflect on the stat sheet. There's just a lot of things that he can do very well that allows us to be the defense that we want to become."

Q: You have somebody in Trey Taylor that's had the opportunity to get some tutelage under Ed Reed. How much would you say that helped him come in as a rookie and elevate his game maybe differently than other rookies you may have seen? Coach Alexander: "I think it kind of laid a foundation for him, but with Trey [Taylor] and any rookie, everything is new. I mean, he's learning regardless of what he's learned before and regardless of who he had the opportunity to learn from coming in, everything that he's learning in this building is totally new just from things in regards to fundamentals and how he moves out on the field and the efficiency in which he moves, schematics and learning the responsibilities and the communication that comes with performing in our defense and what's required of him, to also even just him being a professional, just how to manage his time. And I think those are probably some of the things that he had the ability to learn from a guy like Ed Reed or somebody that has been in this position, just to try to help him as he develops into a pro, as he tries to figure out what his routine is as a pro. How does he go about his business really outside of the confines of the times that we have with him? I think that that was probably more of a thing that really provided him the maturity that he's coming to the building with, outside of the things from a football standpoint that everything is so new, regardless of what you've learned before."

Q: You talked about your relationship with Antonio Pierce, what about your relationship with Patrick Graham, how has that gone? And then when you have a system that's in place from last year, and a lot of the players are coming back, how do you kind of mesh your philosophies, your coaching, in what kind of has already been in place? Coach Alexander: "The development of my relationship with PG [Patrick Graham] has been great. I've known about PG for a couple years now. He had actually left Miami in 2019, and I went to the dolphins in 2020 and we've kind of worked obviously with the same people. So, some of the same terminology wasn't as hard for me to grasp because a lot of the stuff was similar to my experience in Miami. But he's been awesome. He's been great in regards to my personal development for what I need to be for this group. As far as the things that I'm providing, I'm providing to make his vision a reality with our group. And so whatever that's needed for me to be done to provide the information, provide the clarity, build a culture that's reflective to the things that we want to get done from a behavior standpoint in order to get the performance that we're looking for and the results that we're looking for. So, as of right now, it's been great, and we'll continue to do that going forward."

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