The current trend of NFL teams hiring former players turned broadcasters for spots in their front offices may continue.
After Troy Aikman recently joined the Miami Dolphins as a consultant in their search for a new general manager, and with the Atlanta Falcons widely tipped to name Matt Ryan as their President of Football, Greg Olsen has expressed interest in following suit.
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Olsen, who’s been an analyst with Fox since he retired in January 2021, was asked whether he would join the front office of an NFL team.
The former tight end not only said he would, but that he is confident he would be successful in it.
“There’s no question in my mind that I could do it,” Olsen told Peter Schrager on The Schrager Hour.
“And I think I could do it well.”
Olsen’s confidence comes from the fact that, according to him, NFL head coaches have reached out to him about joining their staff.
Scharger also raised the examples of Ryan and Aikman, before mentioning how Tom Brady owns 5 percent of the Las Vegas Raiders and is directly involved in the team but still calls games for Fox.
“All those guys you just mentioned, I think teams would be more than thrilled to have a part of their team,” Olsen said.
“You have Tom Brady in your ownership group, the greatest football player of all time. You hear him talk on the broadcast.
“You hear his perspectives in his interviews, his understanding of locker room tension, good, bad, work ethic.
“That’s a no-brainer of the century for Tom Brady and Troy Aikman.”
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Olsen is a three-time Pro Bowler who enjoyed 14 seasons in the NFL, mainly with the Carolina Panthers.
He became the first tight end in NFL history to record three consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons, doing so between 2014 and 2016.
After retiring, he went on to forge a highly successful career with Fox.
However, Olsen also made clear he doesn’t believe every former player can be a great executive.
“What I’m going to say is not all related,” he added.
“My perspective on all of this is I think there’s range. I don’t think necessarily playing career and ability to do the job necessarily go hand in hand.”
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“There are so many elements that go into managing a front office, a locker room, a team.”
Olsen ended the conversation on a downer as he reminded Schrager about just how good his job at Fox is.
“It’d be very hard for me to ever walk away from the job that I have now,” he added.
“This is arguably the best job in football.”
Olsen is a fan favorite on Fox. That was best demonstrated when he was controversially moved to the No. 2 analyst role after the network handed Brady a $375 million contract and the No.1 role.
Right now, fans don’t need to worry about losing Olsen from their screens.
However, it’s clear he harbors a burning desire to one day return to the league in an executive role.
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