Raiders Coaching Staff
Greg
Olson
Offensive Coordinator
18th season in NFL
4th season with Raiders
Greg Olson enters his second season in his return to the Raiders, marking
his 18th season in the NFL and fourth season with the Raiders, having
spent the 2013 and 2014 seasons as the team’s offensive coordinator.
Olson is also in his second stint on Head Coach Jon Gruden’s staff, as he served
as Gruden’s quarterbacks coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2008.
Bringing 32 years of coaching experience to the post, Olson holds 11 seasons
of experience as an offensive coordinator, as he’s been with the Detroit Lions
(2005), St. Louis Rams (2006-07), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2009-11), Raiders
(2013-14, 2018) and Jacksonville Jaguars (2015-16).
Last season with the Raiders, Olson led an offense that underwent many
changes due to injuries, but still saw QB Derek Carr produce career highs in
many statistical categories and TE Jared Cook earn his first Pro Bowl honor. Carr
set personal bests in passing yards (4,049), completions (381), completion
percentage (68.9 percent) and yards per attempt (7.3 avg.).
Olson also assisted Carr in cementing himself among NFL history when his
completion total in 2018 surpassed Peyton Manning for most completions
(1,759) in NFL history through a player’s first five seasons. Carr joined Manning
as the only other quarterback in league annals to complete 300 passes in
each of their first five seasons. Carr also set a new franchise record for most
consecutive pass attempts without an interception this past season with 332
attempts, which ranks third in NFL history.
In 2017, Olson served as the quarterbacks coach for the Los Angeles Rams,
helping the Rams win the NFC West and overseeing the development of secondyear
QB Jared Goff. Under Olson, Goff enjoyed a breakout season in 2017,
earning a selection to the Pro Bowl and throwing for 3,804 yards on 296-of-
477 passing (62.1 percent), 28 touchdowns and just seven interceptions.
Additionally, Olson helped the Rams post 29.9 points per game, best in the
NFL, and the franchise’s best mark in 16 years.
Olson spent two seasons (2015-16) as the offensive coordinator of the
Jacksonville Jaguars after serving as assistant head coach/quarterbacks coach
in 2012. In the first season of his second stint with Jacksonville in 2015, Olson
revamped the Jaguars offense into the NFL’s 14th-ranked scoring unit (23.5
points per game) after placing 32nd in 2014.
Olson served in the same capacity during his first stint with the Raiders from
2013-14, where he was charged with tutoring first-year Carr in 2014. Olson
played a key role in the development of the rookie quarterback, who threw for
3,270 yards and 21 touchdowns, a franchise rookie record and tops in the NFL
among rookie quarterbacks that year.
In 2013, the Raiders’ offense averaged 20.1 points and 333.8 yards per
game. Despite starting a league-high eight different offensive line combinations,
Olson’s group showed improvements in many significant areas from 2012,
including yards per rush (3.8 in 2012 to 4.6 in 2013), 20-plus-yard runs
(eight to 18), red zone touchdown percentage (42.9 to 59.5) and points on the
opening possession (three to 41).
Olson served four seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2008-11,
including the last three as offensive coordinator. Olson was responsible for the
development of QB Josh Freeman, the 17th overall pick in the 2009 draft, who
threw for 8,898 yards and 51 touchdowns in his first three seasons as a starter.
In 2011, Olson helped guide the Buccaneers to one of their best offensive
seasons in team history, setting franchise records for yards per play (5.61),
average per rush (4.64 yards), average per pass play (7.21), passer rating (96.2)
and fewest interceptions thrown (six).
Working closely with Olson in 2009, Freeman led all rookie quarterbacks
in completion percentage (54.5) while setting Buccaneer rookie records for
touchdown passes (10) and passing yards (1,855) despite starting in just
nine games.
In his first season in Tampa Bay, Olson was part of Head Coach Jon Gruden’s
staff. The Buccaneers’ offense finished the season amassing 5,456 total yards,
the highest total in team history, while scoring 361 points, the second-highest
total in team annals.
Prior to joining Tampa Bay, Olson spent two seasons (2006-07) as offensive
coordinator for the St. Louis Rams. In 2006 Rams became just the fourth team
in NFL history to produce a 4,000-yard passer (QB Marc Bulger), a 1,500-yard
rusher (RB Steven Jackson) and two 1,000-yard receivers (WRs Torry Holt and
Isaac Bruce). Bulger, Jackson and Holt were all selected to the Pro Bowl under
Olson’s direction
Prior to his time with the Rams, Olson spent one season as quarterbacks
coach (2004) and one season as offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach
(2005) for the Detroit Lions after entering the league as quarterbacks coach for
the San Francisco 49ers in 2001 under head coach Steve Mariucci.
PERSONAL: Native of Richland, Wash. …Played quarterback at Spokane
Falls Junior College (1981-82) and Central Washington (1983-84)…Earned
bachelor’s degree in education from Central Washington...He and his wife,
Lissa, have twins, Kenneth and Grayce (13)…Lissa was the first female to be
named head coach of a Division I track and field men’s track team when she took
over at Purdue in March of 2001.
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