Las Vegas Raiders Special Teams Coordinator Tom McMahon on the state of the Silver and Black.
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00:00 That takes a couple years to get that bond and that every single ball.
00:04 These guys work tirelessly to get the same ball.
00:08 And really to get the same ball, and I say the same ball,
00:11 if you're looking at field goals, get that same ball down.
00:15 The only way you're gonna get it down with no laces, no spinning is,
00:18 you just gotta work, work, work, work.
00:20 And they're really taking off.
00:22 And it was, at first you have to work through those things cuz it's completely
00:25 different guys working together.
00:28 And I think they've done a great job of it.
00:30 And they've really been accepting of each other and
00:32 accepting of each other what one guy can do and what another guy can do.
00:35 And they went and merged it.
00:37 But they're demanding from each other, which is what I like.
00:40 They're not, hey, it's okay, it's okay, my bad.
00:43 You don't hear any of that.
00:44 Enough is enough after one or two bad reps.
00:48 And let's get this thing going, whoever it is that day.
00:51 And that's what I like about those guys.
00:52 They push each other, but they do it the right way to help our team produce.
00:58 >> Those guys talk often about you just being in the lab all the time,
01:00 coming up with new things, trying to create new things, come up with new things.
01:04 Obviously, we saw the kickoff thing last year that happened.
01:08 I guess, how much time do you guys think, do you brainstorm?
01:11 What's your process?
01:12 >> No, my process is I'm gonna watch it, and if I see it, I'm gonna attack leverage.
01:18 So if I see a leverage breakdown in an opponent, I'm gonna try to attack that.
01:21 If I see something that's gonna allow us to create leverage,
01:26 such as hang time, which is leverage, or kicking the ball to a red line.
01:31 If I find a technique or a way to put a ball on a tee, then I think that we owe
01:34 that to our organization and to our players to experiment with it.
01:38 And that's the thing I like with these guys is, I'll say, hey,
01:42 we wanna try to hit a banana ball.
01:43 You wanna hit this, and they hit it.
01:44 And if they can really, really hit it consistently, then we stick with it.
01:48 If they can't, we move forward and we find something else.
01:51 And they like that.
01:53 >> I know the league seems to be trying to get rid of kickoff returns in general.
01:57 I feel like you're probably not thrilled with that development.
02:01 I mean, where do you see the future of the kickoff going?
02:03 >> I think we're gonna always have kickoffs.
02:06 I think we're always gonna have kickoff returns.
02:08 I think it's just one of those things where, at the end of the day,
02:11 the number one thing is player safety.
02:12 And I do agree with that.
02:14 And as special teams coaches,
02:15 I wanna protect these players a little different than everybody else.
02:18 Do I wanna eliminate the kickoff?
02:20 No, but if you can come up with a rule that protects them, and
02:23 we still are allowed to kick off and tackle, I'm all for it.
02:28 No different than the fair catch rule this year or
02:30 any of the other changes that ate in the box, what we call the box,
02:34 two, three years ago that special teams coaches came up with.
02:37 I think the guys aren't gonna let this play die.
02:40 There's too many great kickers.
02:42 There's too many great returners.
02:44 And it's how you start every single game.
02:46 So I think it'll always be in the game, to answer your question.
02:49 But I think that we're gonna have to make adjustments, and
02:51 we're doing it for the right reason, for the player's safety.
02:53 >> Doesn't it look like they have kind of ruined onside kicks?
02:56 I mean, nobody seems to get them anymore.
03:00 Is that just the development?
03:02 Is there something to change there?
03:03 I guess, where do you see that?
03:05 >> No, I think that we just need to keep trying to find, like you were saying,
03:08 get in that lab and find that kick.
03:10 And once one of us finds it, that percentage will go up, and
03:15 then we'll learn how to stop it.
03:17 So I like that part of it.
03:18 I like the schematic part of it.
03:21 I wanna learn from other coaches.
03:23 I hope that I can find that one kick when we need it.
03:26 I hope that we have it, to be honest with you.
03:27 I hope in our lab we have the kick that we need.
03:29 But no, I think that the onside kick will,
03:33 I think the percentage may split, and then it may go the other way.