Grant Olson, Defensive Coordinator - North Dakota State

This week on Inside the Headset – Presented by CoachComm, we’re joined by Grant Olson, Defensive Coordinator and Linebackers Coach at North Dakota State University. Coach Olson shares his journey from student assistant to defensive coordinator at his alma mater, with lessons learned at Wyoming and Indiana State, the influence of NDSU’s coaching tradition, and the honor of being selected for the AFCA 35 Under 35 program. 📌 Inside the Headset delivers weekly conversations with coaches from all levels of football. Episode Timestamps 1:13 – Introduction 1:50 – Deciding to pursue coaching 3:30 – Lineage of successful NDSU coaches 5:15 – Coaching at your alma mater 8:45 – Balancing past success with motivation 10:55 – Starting as an NDSU student assistant 14:20 – Moving from engineering to coaching 15:40 – Graduate assistant role at Wyoming 21:20 – Highs and lows at Wyoming 23:30 – Managing player-to-coach relationships 25:50 – Challenges as a graduate assistant 27:40 – First full-time role at Indiana State 33:45 – Lessons from first position 35:00 – Returning to NDSU 40:15 – Full-circle success coaching linebackers 46:55 – Taking on Special Teams Coordinator role 50:35 – Transition to Defensive Coordinator 55:37 – AFCA 35 Under 35 experience 58:30 – Closing thoughts