Oliver Luck on How Al Davis Shaped The Role of XFL Coach/GM

The Big Play Podcast on Facebook Live had XFL CEO Oliver Luck last week. It was a 20-minute interview covering Oliver meeting Vince to the idea behind the Coach/GM role.

Notes from the Interview;

• Never met Vince McMahon before the XFL
• Started talking with Vince in May of 2018 about the XFL job
• Not a big wrestling fan but knew about the success of the WWE
• Met for several Saturday’s to go over Vince’s vision
• Vince realized they made mistakes in 2001. Was too gimmicky
• Came on board in July of 2018
• The credibility of the league is important
• The XFL 2001 scramble was a bad idea (replacement instead of kick-off in 2001)
• Need to be aware of head issues with players
• Wants to play “Crisp” football, not a lot of penalties
• Wants to have a bit more scoring than the AAF
• The offensive lineman is a critical position to fill
• The vision of an XFL Coach/GM comes from the days of Al Davis of the Raiders. Coaches were involved in gameday play calls and picking players. Going back to the ’70s and 80’s style coach
• XFL Coach/GM elevates the finger pointing between management and coaches because it is the responsibility of one person
• 85 million football fans, there is a void in the Spring the XFL can fill
• A lot of these fans live in or near major markets, thats why the eight cities were chosen
• Other coaching announcements coming soon
• XFL job is not to develop players for the NFL
• Proud of his son Andrew Luck after coming back from injury