Legendary offensive line coach
Steve Greatwood has returned to the Cal football program as an analyst Travers Family Head Football Coach Justin Wilcox on Oct. 18, 2022.
Greatwood spent three seasons as the offensive line coach at Cal from 2017-19 and was responsible for the development of a group headlined by Jake Curhan and Michael Safell. Curhan is now in his second season with the Seatle Seahawks after twice earning All-Pac-12 honorable mention honors with the Golden Bears. Saffell is in his second campaign as a graduate assistant for the Golden Bears who was a second-team All-Pac-12 selection at Cal as a 2020 junior before having to medicially retire prior to the 2021 campaign.
Greatwood's offensive lines at Cal helped pave the way for running backs Patrick Laird and Christopher Brown Jr.
Laird finished his Golden Bear career with 2153 yards rushing and 14 touchdowns on the ground and also caught more passes in his Cal career than any running back in school history with 99 receptions for 608 yards with five touchdowns. Laird's 51 receptions as a 2018 senior were also a single-season school record for a running back and all but a handful of Laird's statistics were recorded during his the last two campaigns after he was used seldom used prior to his arrival. Laird racked up the honors as a senior when he ran for 961 yards to finish just 39 yards from becoming only the third Cal player to ever amass a pair of 1000-yard rushing seasons and joining Marshawn Lynch and Russell White in the elite group. Laird did become the first Cal player since Lynch to rush for over 100 yards twice in the Big Game in back-to-back seasons in 2017 and 2018 while capturing a multitude of honors for his accomplishments on and off the field. Laird's honors were highlighted by his second-team Senior All-American pick by the Senior CLASS Award, his spot on the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team®, and his selections as one of three finalists for the Burlsworth Trophy and a semifinalist for the Campbell Trophy. Laird had a breakthrough season as a 2017 junior with 1127 yards rushing and eight scores on the ground while adding 45 receptions for 322 yards and one touchdown to total a team-high and career-high 1,449 all-purpose yards. He was also one of 10 national semifinalsts for the Burlsworth Trophy, earned honorable mention All-Pac-12 honors and was a first-team Pac-12 All-Academic pick in addition to finding a spot on the CoSIDA Academic All-District® 8 squad.
Brown had his best season at Cal wtih Greatwood as the ofensive line coach as a 2019 senior when he played in all 13 games with 12 starts and led the team with career highs in rushes (208), yards rushing (914), rushing touchdowns (8), receiving touchdowns (4), total touchdowns (12), points (72) and all-purpose yards (1259), while he was second in total offense (914). Brown tied for fifth in the Pac-12 in total touchdowns and was sixth in total yards rushing. He also had career highs of 22 receptions and 166 yards receiving with his receptions the most by a non-wide receiver and third-most on the team overall
Greatwood produced some of the top offensive lines in college football history over his 40 seasons as a football coach including 32 campaigns over three stints at his alma mater Oregon. During his three-plus decades of coaching in his hometown, the Eugene native was instrumental to Oregon’s tremendous success on offense. Greatwood spent 25 seasons as the offensive line coach at Oregon beginning with a 13-year run (1982-94) that concluded with a 1995 Rose Bowl berth after beginning his coaching career with two seasons as a graduate assistant at his alma mater (1980-81).
After two seasons with the NFL’s St. Louis Rams (1995-96), he returned to collegiate coaching at Maryland (1997) before spending two seasons at USC (1998-99).
Greatwood came back to Eugene as the Ducks’ defensive line coach for five seasons (2000-04) before his second stint as the team’s offensive line coach (2005-16). He added the title of running game coordinator in 2009 and retained it for his final eight campaigns in Eugene.
During his second stint as Oregon’s offensive line coach the Ducks reached a pair of national championship games (2010, ’14), won four Pac-10/12 titles (2009, ’10, ’11, ’14), piled up 10 or more victories eight times, played in 11 bowl games and posted winning records in each of the first 11 of those 12 campaigns as Oregon compiled a 119-38 (.758) record during the run.
Greatwood was the architect of the team’s successful run game that claimed 10 consecutive conference rushing titles (2006-15), ranked in the top 10 in the nation eight times in his final decade, and established single-season school rushing records on four occasions over his last nine campaigns.
The Ducks' offense under Greatwood most recently ranked in the top 10 in 2015 when Oregon led the Pac-12 and was fifth in the country in rushing offense (279.9 ypg), scoring offense (43.0 ppg) and total offense (538.2 ypg).
The 2015 campaign marked the eighth consecutive season the Ducks had a top-10 offense with other highlights during the period including the 2014 team leading the nation in first downs (406) and passing efficiency (180.8); the 2012 squad tying for the national lead in rushing touchdowns (48), becoming the school’s first team to average more than 300 yards per game on the ground (315.2 ypg) and setting a school mark for most first downs rushing (204); and the 2011 squad rushing for a school-record 4,189 yards.
Oregon also led the nation in scoring offense (47.0 ppg) and total offense (530.7 ypg) in 2010 when Greatwood earned college football Assistant Coach of the Year honors by Football Scoop.com. He was the AFCA’s National Offensive Line Coach of the Year in 2008.
One of the nation’s most underrated technicians, the former Oregon standout has tutored many top offensive linemen including two-time All-American Max Unger, with the second-round 2009 NFL Draft choice earning NFL All-Pro accolades in 2012 and 2013. He also nurtured the careers of All-Americans Jake Fisher and Hroniss Grasu.
Greatwood tutored seven offensive linemen who were selected in the NFL Draft over his final nine seasons at Oregon, including the Chicago Bears’ 2013 first-round pick Kyle Long (No. 20 overall).
While overseeing the Oregon defensive line in 2004, the Ducks held opponents to 122.1 yards per game on the ground – the fifth consecutive season under Greatwood the defensive line had helped hold its opponents under 125 yards per game rushing. He also was critical in the development of Haloti Ngata, who earned second-team All-Pac-10 honors in 2004 before blossoming into a consensus All-American and Pac-12 Co-Defensive Player of the Year the following season.
In 2003, the Ducks’ defensive line helped post a No. 16 national ranking against the run (107.1 rpg) led by Igor Olshansky and Junior Siavii, who were drafted in the second round of the 2004 NFL Draft.
After receiving his bachelor’s degree in sociology from Oregon in 1980, Greatwood began his coaching career as the Ducks’ defensive graduate assistant for two seasons before he was elevated to offensive line/tight ends coach in 1982.
Steve Greatwood File
Birthdate: August 15, 1958
Hometown: Eugene, OR
High School: Churchill HS
College: Oregon, 1980, Bachelor’s in Sociology
Family: Wife, Konisa; Daughters, Kallie, Emily and Tessa (twins), Rachael
Coaching History
Season: Team – Position (Conference Champions, Postseason)
1980: Oregon – Graduate Assistant
1981: Oregon – Graduate Assistant
1982: Oregon – Offensive Line
1983: Oregon – Offensive Line
1984: Oregon – Offensive Line
1985: Oregon – Offensive Line
1986: Oregon – Offensive Line
1987: Oregon – Offensive Line
1988: Oregon – Offensive Line
1989: Oregon – Offensive Line (Independence Bowl)
1990: Oregon – Offensive Line (Freedom Bowl)
1991: Oregon – Offensive Line
1992: Oregon – Offensive Line (Independence Bowl)
1993: Oregon – Offensive Line
1994: Oregon – Offensive Line
(Rose Bowl)
1995: St. Louis Rams (NFL) – Offensive Line/Tight Ends
1996: St. Louis Rams (NFL) – Offensive Line
1997: Maryland – Offensive Line
1998: USC – Offensive Line (Sun Bowl)
1999: USC – Offensive Line
2000: Oregon – Defensive Line
(Holiday Bowl)
2001: Oregon – Defensive Line
(Fiesta Bowl)
2002: Oregon – Defensive Line (Seattle Bowl)
2003: Oregon – Defensive Line (Sun Bowl)
2004: Oregon – Defensive Line
2005: Oregon – Offensive Line (Holiday Bowl)
2006: Oregon – Offensive Line (Las Vegas Bowl)
2007: Oregon – Offensive Line (Sun Bowl)
2008: Oregon – Offensive Line (Holiday Bowl)
2009: Oregon – Running Game Coordinator/Offensive Line (Pac-10 Champions, Rose Bowl)
2010: Oregon – Running Game Coordinator/Offensive Line (Pac-10 Champions, BCS National Championship Game)
2011: Oregon – Running Game Coordinator/Offensive Line (Pac-12 Champions, Rose Bowl)
2012: Oregon – Running Game Coordinator/Offensive Line (Fiesta Bowl)
2013: Oregon – Running Game Coordinator/Offensive Line (Alamo Bowl)
2014: Oregon – Running Game Coordinator/Offensive Line (Pac-12 Champions, Rose Bowl, CFP National Championship Game)
2015: Oregon – Running Game Coordinator/Offensive Line (Alamo Bowl)
2016: Oregon – Running Game Coordinator/Offensive Line
2017: Cal – Offensive Line
2018: Cal – Offensive Line (Cheez-It Bowl)
2019: Cal – Offensive Line (Redbox Bowl)
2022: Cal – Analyst
Last Updated
October 8, 2022
