Line coach gets crack at his former school
Steve Greatwood wrote the book on coaching offensive linemen.
Well, to be a little more literal and a little less cliche, he made the DVDs on the subject.
Cal’s offensive line coach is the talent behind “40 Drills for Winning the Line of Scrimmage” and “Zone Blocking for Up-Tempo Spread Offense” — instructional videos that display how he has perfected his craft during 37 seasons of experience.
“He’s invaluable to our program,” first-year head coach Justin Wilcox said. “The knowledge he has, the way he teaches the guys, the way he gets them to play together, and the level of communication in that room is so important. … There are a lot of people who know football, but he can teach and get them to communicate. “He’s as good as there is.” Greatwood will get a lot of attention this week as the Bears play at Oregon, the place he coached for two stints that totaled 32 seasons and the place from which he was fired in November.
The man with a bearlike exterior and the spirit of a kindergarten teacher deserves to get noticed every week.
His second stretch at Oregon was a 17-year run that included two national championship games, four conference titles and a record of 119-38 (.758). A technician of offensive-line fundamentals and the Ducks’ run-game coordinator, Greatwood led groups that claimed 10 straight conference rushing crowns (2006-15), ranked among the nation’s top 10 eight times in a decade and established season school rushing marks four times.
He was named the 2010 Assistant Coach of the Year by Football Scoop.com, and he was the AFCA’s National Offensive Line Coach of the Year in 2008.
“What you see, more than anything, is that his lines play together. They play in rhythm,” Cal offensive coordinator Beau Baldwin said. “No matter what their talent level, they step the same and play together.
“That’s a sign of being wellcoached.”
What Greatwood has done at Cal in fewer than eight months is nothing short of remarkable. He has taken an offensive line replacing six players who combined for 129 career starts and turned it into a unit that ranks in the middle of the conference in rushing yards per game (153.2) and sacks allowed (two per game).
Wilcox, who has known Greatwood since his older brother played tight end for Oregon in the mid-1990s, said the coach was one of his first calls when he got hired and was on campus the next morning.
At Cal, Greatwood was basically starting from scratch, teaching footwork, hand placement, targeting, body leverage, eye discipline and anticipation.
“There’s nothing slower than an unconfident player,” Greatwood said. “… I consider myself as a teacher first. It doesn’t matter what I know. Can I impart it to these kids and get them to execute it?” The simple answer is: Yes. Patrick Mekari said he hadn’t looked past the defensive lineman in front of him before Greatwood arrived in Berkeley. Now, the junior left tackle is “playing chess” by reading the secondary like a quarterback.
Kamryn Bennett said Greatwood stresses the importance of the offensive line communicating and moving as one. The junior left guard parroted his coach, saying: “I’d rather have all five of you doing the wrong thing than four of you doing one thing and one of you doing his own thing.”
Throughout the spring and into preseason camp, Greatwood had all linemen play all five spots and made sure they played next to each person among the unit.
“The first thing they have to do is trust themselves,” Greatwood said. “A kid who is unsure isn’t going to say anything. They have to trust themselves to know what’s going on. Then, they have to vocalize it and attack it.”
That part of Greatwood’s philosophy has followed him at every stop, starting with his first run in Oregon (1982-95), in two seasons with the NFL’s Rams, and at Maryland (1997) and USC (1998-99).
He coached two-time AllAmerica selection Max Unger among seven players who have been drafted into the NFL during the past nine years.
Cal special-teams coordinator Charlie Ragle said he was inundated with well-wishers for Greatwood when he was on the road for recruiting trips in the spring.
“That speaks volumes about his character,” said Ragle, who shares study sessions with Greatwood as the Bears’ tight ends coach.
Greatwood chose not to discuss his ties with Oregon or his emotions ahead of returning there, believing it could steal the spotlight from the players.
“We all know that he coached at Oregon for decades,” Mekari said. “He knows that. We all know that. But not one time has he talked about that. It doesn’t matter who we’re playing. It’s about us.
“That’s what Coach preaches, and that’s something we’ve bought into.”