Greg Olson, the former Jacksonville Jaguars’ offensive coordinator, as well as quarterbacks coach in 2012, appears to be heading to Los Angeles.
Adam Schefter reported that Olson, who was originally the favorite to land the Buffalo Bills’ offensive coordinator job, is planning on accepting the Los Angeles Rams’ QB coaching job:
Former Jaguars OC Greg Olson, a favorite to become Bills OC, now is planning to become the Los Angeles Rams QB coach, per league source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 18, 2017
For a team that risked everything and more on drafting Jared Goff with the first overall pick in 2016, who struggled in his first season — going 0-7, throwing for 1089 yards, five TDs, seven INTs, and averaging 5.3 yards per attempt — I struggle to see the logic in bringing in Olson. Olson is known as a “QB killer”, who has repeatedly gotten good first year results with most quarterbacks he’s worked with, only to follow that season with an atrocious second year:
- Josh Freeman with Greg Olson (Tampa Bay): 2009 (nine games) - 1855 yards, 54.5 completion percentage 10 TDs, 18 INTs; 2010 (16 games) - 3451 yards, 61.4 completion percentage, 25 TDs, six INTs; 2011 (15 games) - 3592 yards, 62.8 completion percentage, 16 TDs, 22 INTs.
- Marc Bulger (St. Louis): 2006 (16 games) - 4301 yards, 62.9 completion percentage, 24 TDs, eight INTs; 2007 (12 games) - 2392 yards, 58.5 completion percentage, 11 TDs, 15 INTs.
- Joey Harrington (Detroit): 2004 (16 games) - 3047 yards, 56.0 completion percentage, 19 TDs, 12 INTs; 2005 (12 games) - 2021 yards, 57.0 completion percentage, 12 TDs, 12 INTs
And most notable...
- Blake Bortles (Jacksonville): 2015 (16 games) - 4428 yards, 58.6 completion percentage, 35 TDs, 18 INTs; 2016 (16 games) - 3905 yards, 58.9 completion percentage, 23 TDs, 16 INTs
An interesting nugget: Freeman, Bulger, and Harrington were all backups or out of the league within two years of Olson being fired from their teams.
Jaguars’ fans clearly saw the regression from Blake Bortles in the 2016 season compared to 2015. All in all, this seems like a relatively dumb move by Los Angeles, as Jared Goff’s development as a QB is more important than anything for the Rams.