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Paul Gutierrez, ESPN Staff Writer
HENDERSON, Nev. — A sly and slow-developing grin came across Davante Adams‘ face.
Adams, the signature player on the Las Vegas Raiders‘ offense, had just been asked about the team’s new offensive coordinator, and the three-time first-team All-Pro receiver acknowledged he was “really excited” about working with Luke Getsy again.
And why not? After all, the two broke into the NFL together with the Green Bay Packers in 2014, Adams as a second-round draft pick and Getsy as a quality control coach. Getsy became the Packers’ wide receivers coach in 2016 as Adams began his ascent into the wideout stratosphere.
“That was a good feeling, knowing a guy that I’ve worked with [got the job],” Adams said of Getsy during Super Bowl week. “I know how he works. I know how his mind works. We’ve had success together. So, it’s definitely exciting.”
Rousing enough to soothe the hurt feelings of a fan base feeling jilted by Kliff Kingsbury — who reportedly committed to becoming the Raiders’ offensive coordinator before having second thoughts — and his Air Raid offense, though? Especially with Getsy not exactly lighting the NFL on fire through the air as a playcaller for the Chicago Bears the past two seasons?
Because while Getsy authored the league’s Nos. 1 and 2 rushing offenses in 2022 and 2023, respectively (the Bears averaged 177.3 and 141.1 yards per game on the ground those seasons), Chicago was last in passing in 2022 (130.5) and 27th this past season (182.1).
And while the Bears had the No. 20 total offense last year and averaged 21.2 points per game, the Raiders, playing eight games with Josh McDaniels as coach and playcaller and the final nine with Bo Hardegree calling plays as the interim O.C., were 27th in total offense and averaged 19.5 points per contest.
So what, exactly, appealed to Las Vegas coach Antonio Pierce about Getsy?
“Listen,” Pierce said, “Luke kicked our ass when we played the Bears, didn’t he?”
Pierce was referring to last season’s Week 7 game at Soldier Field, a matchup the Bears won 30-12 with undrafted rookie quarterback Tyson Bagent. Indeed, they watched that game during Getsy’s interview.
“That was pretty impressive,” Pierce said. “He was one of the few gentlemen that we brought in that we played against that I thought we knew pretty well, and I thought he did a good job against us, scheme-wise.”
Bagent kept the Raiders off balance in throwing for 162 yards and a touchdown pass while completing 21 of 29 passes, the Bears also gashed the Raiders for 173 rushing yards.
“There are some things that I liked there,” Pierce said. “Obviously, the running game shows up. I thought the passing game, as we move forward, that’s something we can improve on, Luke and the Raiders collectively.”
As in, implementing Getsy’s vision on offense while working in a new quarterback to compete with Aidan O’Connell, who had an up-and-down rookie season after taking over for Jimmy Garoppolo when Pierce was elevated to interim coach from linebackers coach on Nov. 1 after the firing of McDaniels.
Just don’t typecast Getsy when asking what he wants in a QB.
“There’s not one in particular,” he said. “I think you’ve got to play into the players that you have and the things that they do really well. I think that’s what’s cool about this draft … there’s a lot of different types of guys, and it’s about who can do things to the level that it’s a difference maker.
“You try to get as many dynamic guys on your team as you can. I wouldn’t ever want to box myself into a corner with one particular style.”
With the No. 13 pick in the upcoming NFL draft, the Raiders would have to move a tremendous amount of assets to get into the top three to guarantee selecting one of the top QB prospects: USC’s Caleb Williams, North Carolina’s Drake Maye or LSU’s Jayden Daniels.
It would cost less to pick one of the next trio of rookie quarterbacks (Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy, Oregon’s Bo Nix or Washington’s Michael Penix Jr.) or to acquire an established starter such as, say, the Bears’ Justin Fields in a trade.
Yes, even with the seeming cold war between Fields and Getsy last season, Getsy was more than complimentary of Fields’ play, saying he showed “tremendous growth” at QB.
“He’s one of the best human beings I’ve ever gotten to work with,” Getsy said. “It’s just the mentality that he brought every day, that consistent approach, the kind of man that he is. … He was someone that just came to work every day to get better and better, and I think he’ll continue to do so.”
Getsy — who was the Packers’ receivers coach in 2016-17, returned after one year at Mississippi State to become Green Bay’s QB coach in 2019 and was its QB coach and passing game coordinator in 2020-21 before leaving for Chicago — essentially has a blank slate in Las Vegas.
Albeit one with a big, bright shining star in the middle of it. One that figures to serve as a conduit, of sorts, between players and coach.
Because as Adams said when asked what Getsy is bringing to the Raiders, “innovation” was the first nugget he dropped. Plus …
“He’s the type of coach that’s open-minded … he’s going to be open to hearing things from the veteran players that know how this thing works and the best way to do things,” said Adams, who, despite catching 103 passes last season, had his lowest yards-per-catch average (11.1) since 2015 and his fewest TD catches (8) since 2019, when he played in 12 games.
“That innovation to the offense and a good run-pass balance. And that’s what I’m used to, that West Coast style. Going to be fun getting to work on a new system, [yet] something that’s a little bit more familiar.”
Getsy nodded.
“That was how I was raised in this business, in the Mike McCarthy-West Coast style,” Getsy said. “And, obviously, the West Coast is a general term now; there are all these different flavors of it that everyone has kind of taken and run with. And I think we’ll have our own as well.”
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