The Jacksonville Jaguars' three-week search for a new offensive coordinator ended Wednesday when the team announced the hiring of Greg Olson, who had been their quarterbacks coach in 2012 before becoming an offensive coordinator with the Oakland Raiders.
Olson, 51, replaces Jedd Fisch, who was fired Dec. 30 after a season where the Jaguars scored the fewest points (249) and offensive touchdowns (24) in the NFL.
Olson becomes the Jaguars' fourth offensive coordinator in the last five seasons. He was in Jacksonville last Thursday to interview with head coach Gus Bradley, who is currently in Mobile, Alabama, coaching the Senior Bowl.
High on Olson's list of priorities will be developing quarterback Blake Bortles, the third player taken overall in last year's draft. Bortles struggled during a considerable portion of his 13 starts -- he was sacked 55 times and threw 17 interceptions as the Jaguars went 3-10 with him running the offense. He never threw for more than 194 yards in any of their victories.
The Raiders were the only team which finished behind the Jaguars in total offense last season. But Olson was widely credited for the progress of rookie quarterback Derek Carr, who finished with more touchdown passes (21) and a higher rating (76.6) than Bortles despite not being drafted until early in the second round.
In his previous stint with the Jaguars, Olson served under offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski and head coach Mike Mularkey. The Jaguars finished that season 21st in passing offense -- which remains their best such mark since 2009 -- but lost 14 of their 16 games, prompting the firing of Mularkey and the hiring of Bradley with almost an entirely new staff of assistants.
Olson's fate with the Raiders was sealed Monday when Jack Del Rio, the former Jaguars head coach who was hired to replace interim coach Tony Sporano in Oakland, chose Bill Musgrave to be his offensive coordinator.
Marc Trestman, the recently fired head coach of the Chicago Bears, had been mentioned as a prime candidate from the day Fisch was let go, but was not among the possible successors interviewed by the Jaguars. He was named Tuesday as the offensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens.
Olson spent four years with Tampa Bay before coming to Jacksonville and served as the Buccaneers' offensive coordinator from 2009 to 2011. Before that, he was the offensive coordinator for two years with the St. Louis Rams.
His hiring comes a day after former Buffalo Bills head coach Doug Marrone became the Jaguars' new assistant head coach and offensive line coach.
You can follow Ken Hornack on Twitter @HornackFSFla or email him at khornack32176@gmail.com.
