Jaguars Tab Greg Olson to Become Offensive Coordinator

The Jacksonville Jaguars have announced that they intend to hire Greg Olson as the team’s new offensive coordinator. The news comes after the team hired former Buffalo Bills head coach Doug Marrone to be the team’s offensive line coach and assistant head coach.

Some media outlets and online websites had reported that Olson, 51, had already been hired by the Jaguars around 5 pm on Tuesday, but Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley told sources close to the hiring process that no offensive coordinator had been signed as of last night.

Chris Wesseling of NFL.com reports that yes in fact Olson is returning to Jacksonville where he served as the team’s quarterbacks coach in 2012 under Mike Mularkey. The Jaguars finished 2-14 that season with both Blaine Gabbert and Chad Henne seeing time on the field for Jacksonville. Olson will be given the task of helping the growth of Blake Bortles, the second year quarterback whom the Jaguars drafted to take the team to the playoffs.

Olson has experience working with young quarterbacks, having guided Derek Carr last season as he served as the offensive coordinator of the Oakland Raiders. While Oakland won a total of three games last season, like Jacksonville, Carr was one of the better rookies in the league last season, throwing for 3,270 yards and 21 touchdowns.

“It's important the Jaguars turn the franchise around in 2015, so Bortles isn't stuck with yet another coach in his third season,” Wesseling wrote in his story.

The Jaguars had those same kinds of issues with Blaine Gabbert when they chose him 10^th overall in the 2011 NFL Draft. Gabbert had three head coaches and three different offensive coordinators in his tenure in Jacksonville.

There was speculation that the Jaguars would try to sign Olson to be the team’s quarterback coach, Marrone to guide the offensive line and former Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase to become the offensive coordinator. Gase did interview with the Jaguars and was thought to be the frontrunner for the position because the Baltimore Ravens hired Marc Trestman to replace Gary Kubiak who became the Broncos head coach.

Gase is now rumored to possibly be headed to St. Louis to fill the Rams offensive coordinator slot.