CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Greg Olsen played for the Carolina Panthers from 2011-19, making three Pro Bowls as a star tight end. He also became one of the most thoughtful and quotable Panthers ever during that time, skills he will put to use when he broadcasts the next two Carolina games for Fox Sports.
Sunday’s 1 p.m. Dallas-Carolina game will be Olsen’s first time analyzing his former team for a national audience. The Oct. 10 Philadelphia-Carolina game in Charlotte will be the second.
I interviewed Olsen this week about the Panthers, Sam Darnold, LeBron James and Olsen’s 8-year-old son TJ, who continues to make a remarkable recovery from the heart transplant he underwent in Charlotte on June 4. Here’s our Q&A, lightly edited for clarity and brevity.
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— Scott Fowler: The Panthers are 3-0. How did that happen?
— Greg Olsen: The biggest thing that jumps out at you is they’re getting really good quarterback play.
Sam Darnold has really answered a lot of questions that people had when they traded for him. He’s gotten better each week. I thought he looked really good in Houston last week, and he’s really doing everything they ask of him. He’s using his athleticism, he’s throwing outside the pocket on the run, he’s playing from rhythm and timing within the pocket, he’s improvising and keeping plays alive.
You can’t really find any real fault in his game. He understands he’s got some really talented offensive weapons around him and if he can play the role of distributor and protect the ball and continue to just be really efficient and make good decisions — they have a lot of talent for him.
— SF: Do you think what the Panthers are doing is sustainable?
— GO: They’re very young and they’re very talented. What they lack in experience, they make up for in youth and energy and speed on both sides of the ball. It’s never easy being a super-young team. There are going to be little things here and there. Issues that come up. But with their talent, they’re going to continue to get better as these young kids play more. At least on paper, they should be able to build around this for the foreseeable future.
— SF: How far can the Panthers go this year?
— GO: I don’t know if they’re going to be able to win the division. I think Tampa — just with that experience and Tom Brady and whatnot — might be a tough hill to climb. But I don’t think there’s any reason to believe that the Panthers can’t find themselves in the playoffs. The division is top-heavy with Tampa. But Atlanta is kind of going through a rebuild and they’ve already gotten a win against New Orleans.
— SF: In training camp, I thought Dan Arnold was sort of a poor man’s Greg Olsen, in the way Darnold looked for him constantly and trusted Arnold’s hands. But the Panthers traded Arnold away this week to Jacksonville for cornerback C.J. Henderson. What did you think about that?
— GO: I think it was a smart play. If you can get Henderson to play to his pre-draft potential, they might have just stolen another top-tier corner in this passing league. And they needed one, after losing Joe Horn.
I think it’s not so much a reflection of how they feel about Dan Arnold as much as just really the tight end’s role within the Panther system.
— SF: Speaking of that role, Carolina offensive coordinator Joe Brady really hasn’t had much success in getting the tight ends involved in the passing game in his first 19 games here. Why is that?
— GO: Joe’s offense hasn’t really needed to use the tight end. I don’t know if necessarily he doesn’t want to. But they have so many receivers and especially when Christian McCaffrey is out there, too. I just think Joe realizes that he’s so talented at running back and wide receiver. That’s where the majority of the primary targets go. I can’t say I blame them, although I’m not sure if I would love it (as a player). As an outsider, though, I get it.
— SF: How is your son TJ doing after his heart transplant four months ago?
— GO: He’s doing great. He’s back to school. His checkups have been going really well. He’s getting stronger and feeling good. Playing a little baseball, going to school — just doing normal kid stuff. We’re just blown away by how fast he has recovered.
— SF: The last time we talked you mentioned that TJ had basically been living with a heart that only halfway worked for his entire life. Have you seen an increase in his activity since the transplant?
— GO: Absolutely. He’s got way, way more energy. You know, he never realized what he was missing. He never realized how good he could have had it.
And now it’s just so fun to see him running around and coming home from school after a long day and then going to a practice and then doing his homework and by the end of the night he’s still bouncing off the walls. And we’re like, ‘All right dude, you have to go to bed. We’re tired!’
In years past, after school and maybe a little sports, he’d be exhausted. I don’t know if any of us really just understood how significant this would be until now we’ve seen the other side.
— SF: That’s terrific. Have you contacted the heart donor’s family yet through the agency?
— GO: We haven’t gotten there yet. TJ will help us decide on when to write that letter. The whole process is very regulated.
— SF: You helped run the first annual “Tight End University” over the summer in Nashville, and now I see you may have a participant from another sport next year?
— GO: Yep (laughs). LeBron James responded to Travis Kelce about it and said he wanted to do it. That was getting a lot of play the other night, so hopefully we can hold him to it. I would love to have him. That would be awesome. Maybe we can pull that off.
— SF: What’s the first issue that comes to mind when you think of the current Panthers?
— GO: The offensive line needs to hold up a little bit better. Darnold is getting hit pretty good.
— SF: Have you gotten used to rookie wide receiver Terrace Marshall Jr. wearing your old number 88 yet?
— GO: It’s definitely weird seeing a guy running around out there in 88. But I had a chance to visit with him when I went out to practice during camp. He seems like a great kid from everything I’ve heard. He’s a hard worker. I told him: ‘Dude, I wish you a great career. I hope you catch a billion balls in that number. Just catch them.’
— SF: As you hit the fourth game of your first full year as a TV broadcast analyst, how would you say that’s going?
— GO: The biggest thing that I’ve been fortunate with is I got put with such a good crew. (Play-by-play man) Kevin Burkhardt and (sideline reporter) Pam Oliver have been doing this a long time. Kevin is just so easy in the booth. He’s so natural and his whole goal is to make his partner sound great. We have known each other actually since I was in high school (in New Jersey). He used to actually call some of my games.
So it’s been nice to just have a guy that I’ve had a history with. And our production team and directors have been doing this for 30 years. (Note: Olsen will have a different play-by-play announcer for four straight weeks after Cowboys-Panthers, because Burkhardt will move over to Fox’s baseball coverage for NFL Weeks 5-8. Joe Davis is scheduled to team with Olsen for Panthers-Eagles).
— SF: What’s the most difficult part of broadcasting?
— GO: The hardest part that takes times and reps is just all the actual production mechanics. The communication between the (production) truck and the (broadcast) booth. You can be in the middle of a thought and then all of a sudden there’s a flag. And you have to hold the thought, let the announcement come, and then pick up where you left off.
Everyone watches the Peyton and Eli thing (the Manning brothers now do an alternate telecast for most ‘Monday Night Football’ games), and it’s so fun because they have no constraints. They can share stories and talk. That’s what’s so fun to listen to. Part of it is just that they’re good, but also it’s a fun format.
Unfortunately, during a live broadcast, you’re constricted by the play counts. You’re constricted by the snap. You’re constricted by officials and injury timeouts. Being able to seamlessly move in and out is something that I’m still learning and something that I really lean on Kevin to kind of help me with.
But so far it’s gone well, and I’m just thankful to have the group that I do.
