Seahawks Eager to Pair 'QB Guru' Greg Olson with Geno Smith, Potential Draft Pick
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - With less than three weeks until the start of the new NFL league year and the beginning of free agency, the Seattle Seahawks find themselves entrenched in the midst of negotiations with Pro Bowl quarterback Geno Smith on a multi-year contract and re-signing him for 2023 remains the franchise's top priority.
But while Smith and backup Drew Lock have yet to sign the dotted line and both Pete Carroll and John Schneider kept the door open for Seattle to use a high draft pick on a quarterback in April during their annual press conferences at the NFL combine, the franchise looks to be in great hands on the coaching front regardless of who lines up under center next season.
Though the Seahawks have yet to officially announce the hiring, Carroll confirmed long-time NFL assistant Greg Olson will be joining his staff as the new quarterback coach on Tuesday, calling his arrival a "great get" for the team. He will replace Dave Canales, who departed to become the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator last month.
"Greg brings such experience. Really a quarterback guru guy, everybody that I know that has ever coached with him loves the guy," Carroll said, adding that he has already started working with Olson in recent weeks. "I think it's going to be great for Geno. He's a real disciplinarian. He's a real fundamental guy, as well as he's creative. He's been a coordinator, called plays, and all that kind of stuff. He adds a ton to our staff."
As Carroll noted several times on Tuesday, Seattle's staff took a "big hit" with the departure of Canales, who wore a number of different hats from receiver coach to passing game coordinator to quarterback coach in 13 years as an assistant with the organization. With him leaving for Tampa Bay late in the offseason after the Super Bowl, the rush was on to find a quality replacement to take his stead with most potential candidates already under contract elsewhere.
Luckily for Carroll and the Seahawks, Olson wasn't under contract after working as a senior offensive assistant for the Rams last season. With 15 seasons under his belt as an NFL offensive coordinator and a sterling track record coaching quarterbacks on his resume, the team worked swiftly to bring him into the fold and hit a home run filling a major void.
"Dave Canales had been such a steady for us and been just kind of part of the woodwork," Carroll remarked. "And I don't mean to make light of that. He has been such a factor for me representing what we believe in and all that. So when you lose that, you don't know what's going to happen, you know. Shoot, we hit it with Greg Olson. And so we feel very, very fortunate."
Over the course of his illustrious coaching career, Olson has done magnificent work with quarterbacks of all ages and skill sets. Not long after his playing career at Central Washington came to a close, he helped Jon Kitna develop from an NAIA quarterback into an eventual NFL starter who lasted 16 years in the league. Only a few stops later, he played a key role in the growth of future Hall of Famer Drew Brees as Purdue's quarterback coach.
Once he jumped to the NFL, Olson proved he could bring out the best in veteran players as well. Joining the 49ers as quarterback coach in 2001, 31-year old starter Jeff Garcia threw 32 touchdown passes to lead the team to a 12-4 record. As an offensive coordinator, he would later squeeze career seasons out of Josh Freeman in Tampa Bay and Blake Bortles in Jacksonville, with the two players throwing 26 and 35 touchdowns respectively in 2011 and 2015.
Most recently, Derek Carr enjoyed his two best seasons with Olson calling plays in Las Vegas, throwing 48 touchdowns and only 17 interceptions in 2019 and 2020. He posted the two highest passer ratings of his career in those seasons, taking major strides forward in Olson's west coast offense.
"Greg is a seasoned guy. He's been through a lot of great players, coached a lot of tremendous guys early in their careers and all of that," Carroll stated. "So he adds a lot to that. And he's a real fundamentalist. He's a real discipline fundamental guy who really believes in the basics of the position."
Having left a positive imprint on so many quarterbacks with different organizations over the years, Carroll couldn't have asked for a better replacement for Canales. Considering his immense amount of experience with quarterbacks of all ages, sizes, and skill sets, his hire provides great flexibility for Seattle as it figures out short and long-term plans at the position.
On one hand, Olson already has enjoyed great success with established starting quarterbacks such as Garcia and Carr. Deploying a meticulous fundamentals-driven approach, teaming him up with Smith could help the 10-year veteran take his game to another level after throwing 30 touchdowns and completing a league-best 69.8 percent of his passes in 2022.
At the same time, with the Seahawks in a rare position holding a top-five pick and a talented incoming draft class headlined by Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud, Olson has orchestrated several masterful coaching jobs with young quarterbacks over the years. Before eventually washing out of the league, Freeman and Bortles looked like franchise quarterbacks early in their respective careers under his tutelage.
Keeping this in mind, it's no wonder Carroll has the utmost confidence handing the keys to Olson with the expectation he will push Smith, Lock, or whichever quarterbacks wind up on Seattle's roster this spring to play at their best. Regardless of how things shake out in coming weeks and months, the position should be in capable hands with him steering the ship.
"That was just so fortunate to get for us because it'll be great for Geno, it'll be great for Drew, it'll be great for a young guy," Carroll said. "Greg is one of those guys really is kind of a QB whisperer. And so I'm hoping he can really be a factor."
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