Raiders.com is publishing a series of Q&As with members of the Silver and Black's 2025 coaching staff.

Here is the latest discussion with defensive backs coach Marcus Robertson, who began his NFL coaching career in 2007 after playing in the NFL for 12 years. Robertson returns to the Raiders organization, having previously coached defensive backs for the Silver and Black from 2014-16.

Read through for Robertson's thoughts on his lifelong love for the Raiders, his excitement to work with the new defensive staff and more.

Q: How has it been getting to know the staff that you'll be working with this year?

Robertson: It's been really good. It's my second stint with the Raiders. I'm excited about it. Obviously, it's totally different from being in Oakland as opposed to being in Vegas, just to see the transformation of the organization. For me, it's an honor and a privilege because I grew up down there in Pasadena, California and grew up a Raider fan my entire life. So, I'm excited to be back and I'm excited to see what we can do moving forward.

Q: What was it that intrigued you to take this job with the Raiders?

Robertson: First and foremost, it was the Raiders. Secondly, the opportunity to be with Coach [Pete] Carroll was a big influence. I've been studying his system for a very long time. When I coached for the Raiders in Oakland, Ken Norton Jr. was our defensive coordinator, so we were running a very similar system. I had a good background in it and I took it with me everywhere I've went since then. Then the relationships. Me and [pass game coordinator/defensive backs coach] Joe Woods have a good, strong bond. We've seemed to work well together, and our secondaries perform at a high level. It was an opportunity that gave a little bit of familiarity and then gave us an opportunity to change a little bit of the landscape of the defense as opposed to what it's been over the last couple years.

Q: When you come to a new organization, how do go about setting the goals for what you want to accomplish in the offseason and then how do you map out a plan to accomplish those goals?

Robertson: I already think we took a big jump when you look at the guys we got on this defensive staff. I look at some of the guys that we've acquired already in free agency, and I think we're already - even to a certain degree before we hit the grass - I think we're better personnel wise. Now it's just a matter of us putting it all together and getting these guys to execute at a high level. We've got to get them to understand that practice is everything. It's the only place you've got to get better. Every single day, it's kind of that two percent rule. … The bottom line is you've got to go out there and put it on tape. We're going to challenge these guys. We're going to ask these guys to bring the energy and bring their best every single day because we're going to demand a certain level of perfection, and I believe we can get it.

Q: Is defensive coordinator Patrick Graham somebody you've gotten to know here, or had you had any previous interactions with him during your time in the league?

Robertson: With the success he had in New England, everybody in the league has had an opportunity to look at the defense, know who the coaching staff was and know their style of football. I've always been intrigued with that and once I got the opportunity, it was like, go for it. For me, it's a great learning experience to get to know a little bit more defense because you look at the film from your perspective and you say, "Hey, it's this." Now I'm sitting beside Patrick and he's like, "Oh, no, we were doing this, and we were doing that." That's a real good experience as well and these guys are knowledgeable. I'm sitting here with guys who already have kind of what I want and that's the opportunity to win a Super Bowl.

Q: What is your superpower as a coach that allows you to get the most out of your players?

Robertson: I believe I've got a vast knowledge of the game. I also think my 12 years of experience being on the grass has played a very vital part in not only my relationship with players but getting them to understand and see things and feel things. I try to do the best I possibly can not to put our players in positions where I myself would be uncomfortable. I've seen a ton of football. I've played a ton of football. I always tell my players, you're going to learn to trust me. For me, alignment, assignment, technique, finish, all those types of things. I think over a period of time if you continue to rep them, they become like second nature. No different from a guy getting up every day and driving to work.

Q: How do you feel like you've grown as a coach and as a person since you were last with the Raiders?

Robertson: I just think I've got a whole lot more knowledge and wisdom. I'm a firm believer that every two to three years, there's a tweak or a change in offensive philosophy, which obviously puts you in a situation where defensively, you've got to come up with some answers. To a certain degree, a whole lot of offenses are doing the same things, but they're getting to them in different ways. You've got to be able to get the players to understand that and see that and that way they'll be able to play a whole lot faster. I think that's one of the things I bring to the table. Some of these plays with the orbit motion and jet motion, I mean, it's the same as old school 49er offense. But you just have to find a way to teach that and I think I'm pretty good at that as far as the proper execution, the eye discipline and the footwork that goes with it.

Q: What former Raider did you have the most fun coaching?

Robertson: Shoot, that was Charles Woodson. The funny thing about "Wood" was when I came in here, he was slowly making the transition back from nickel corner to safety. At the time, I had played safety my entire career and he had already been Defensive MVP, won a Super Bowl, all that stuff. I told him, "Hey, you're going to learn to trust me." I can just remember several times during the course of practice, during the course of a week, he'd look at me and he'd go, "Marc, that s– works." And I said, "I know it does." (laughter) Right there at the tail end of his career, I think he was playing some of his best football in a situation where he moved to a whole new position. Not to take away from the fact that he already had the instincts, this, that and the other. But just seeing the game from a different lens, I personally felt like he excelled. As he was walking out the door, he was still an ascending player.

Q: Charles Woodson is a favorite for a lot of Raiders fans. When you were growing up, what were some of your favorite memories following the team?

Robertson: I go back to Mike Haynes, Lester Hayes, Willie Brown. I was a young kid when Marcus Allen reversed field and went 74 yards against Washington in the Super Bowl. I've been connected to the Raiders from day one. I just love it. The offense, the defense – it didn't matter. It was just that commitment to excellence that drove me to no end as a youngster.

Q: What helps you take your mind off football when you need to disconnect and get away for a bit?

Robertson: That's a good question. We kind of exhaust ourselves here in the office trying to come up with answers, solutions, film to get it right. Sometimes it's important just to go home. I'm a big music guy, so I just like to go home and sit on the couch. When I was a kid, we lived in a two-bedroom house with a den, and the den was my dad's spot. We had a nice-sized backyard and every Friday or Saturday, my dad would pull the window up, put the speaker in the window and ask some people to come over. We'd just listen to '70s, '80s R&B, mingle and have a good time. So that's kind of what I do, relax and enjoy some really good music. I have some of those old vinyls so I put them on, sit back and listen to some old school Marvin Gaye.

Q: When you finished playing, you spent four years in Tennessee working in player development. How did that opportunity come about and what did you learn there that you've been able to use in coaching as well?

Robertson: I can't say it was the best four years of my life, but I want to say it was the most vital four years of my life after football. I was actually trying to come back and play a 13th year, and [Titans General Manager] Floyd Reese was like, "No, I'm not signing you." But he said, "What I will do is I'll hire you in the front office, and I'll teach you how to evaluate talent, manipulate the cap and build a roster." So that's what I learned and literally, I learned it just sitting in a room with a bunch of old heads or scouts who could make the combine. They could turn this room into the combine. (laughter) I knew what a defensive back's skill set looks like and what you're looking for. I knew where everybody should be on the field, your front, your backers, but I didn't know what you should be looking for in that particular position's profile. I learned how to evaluate talent in the professional level for free agency, the draft and then just how to build a roster.

It was a wonderful experience. My kids were young at the time. I was thankful that he offered me a position in the front office and was willing to teach me. He did that simply because he respected me as a player. I was a true pro, captain of the team, player rep and tried to do things the right way. Thank God for Floyd Reese or I probably wouldn't be sitting here today.

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