Greg Olson an Uninspiring Choice for Jaguars OC, Blake Bortles' Future

As first reported by CBS' Jason La Canfora, the Jaguars officially hired former Raiders offensive coordinator Greg Olson to handle the same role in Jacksonville. It's a homecoming of sorts for Olson, who was an assistant head coach in charge of quarterbacks with the Jaguars in 2012. It's also a choice that I find baffling from Jacksonville's perspective. 

No matter what happens with Olson, I think it's fair to assume that he is head coach Gus Bradley's selection, and not necessarily who the front office wanted. As The Florida-Times Union writer Ryan O'Halloran said about the Olson hiring: "Olson checks the boxes Bradley wanted—experience calling the plays, experience as a coordinator and experience as a quarterbacks coach."

But experience is a double-edged sword in this case. Olson has practically zero coordinating experience that shows him in a positive light. Jags reporters can give out PR-driven stats about the 2006 Rams like they matter, and they can excuse Olson based on his quarterback situation all they want. But Olson has had a lot of chances to build on something with a young quarterback and, unless you want to give him credit for Drew Brees in college or Josh Freeman's one good season, has come up empty. 

Here's his history as an offensive coordinator. Try not to let any of the double-digit numbers hit you in the eyes—there are a lot of them: 

Year	Team	DVOA (Rk)	Pass Offense DVOA (Rk)
2005	DET*	-17.1% (29)	-14.4% (27)
2006	STL	2.5% (14)	17.2% (13)
2007	STL	-22.7% (31)	-16.9% (31)
2009	TB	-19.3% (26)	-18.0% (24)
2010	TB	8.0% (8)	25.2% (9)
2011	TB	-11.5% (26)	-11.6% (24)
2013	OAK	-16.7% (28)	-20.3% (31)
2014	OAK	-19.5% (29)	-10.1% (28)

If Olson's last name were Schottenheimer, this hire would be widely blamed on nepotism. 

And, perhaps most damning of Olson as the pick for this franchise: They have a quarterback that needs a lot of turning around. Blake Bortles was abysmal in his rookie season, to the point where he made some very unflattering lists in terms of company: 

Player	Team	Year	DYAR	DVOA
David Carr	HOU	2002	-1,129	-47.4%
Blaine Gabbert	JAC	2011	-1,009	-46.5%
Bobby Hoying	PHI	1998	-964	-68.3%
Blake Bortles	JAC	2014	-955	-40.6%

You can argue that some of Olson's quarterbacks were doomed from the get-go, or that they didn't have the tools to be better, but the list of pupils is a who's who of failed quarterback prospects: Joey Harrington, Rex Grossman, Josh Freeman, Blaine Gabbert. According to AFC West lead writer Christopher Hansen, Raiders quarterback Derek Carr had no confidence in the offense by the end of the season. 

The only real innovation I could find attached to Olson's name is that he helped popularize the quick wideout screen at Purdue with Joe Tiller: 

Jaguars fans familiar with former offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch's work know that those sorts of quick passes aren't really what this offense needs at this time. 

So here's where I come at this hire: I think it's a poor decision by Bradley. I think that entrusting the most valuable asset your franchise has to Olson is like trusting your six-year-old to not eat too much Halloween candy. History has strongly spoken against the odds being good. 

That's not to say that Olson couldn't surprise us, or that he doesn't talk a good game. It's just that in a land where the Adam Gases and Rob Chudzinskis of the world are still roaming, Olson clearly has an inferior resume. Moreover, little that he's done in Oakland is inspiring, which hurts any sort of case that he's growing as he spends more time in the league. 

It's my belief that the Jaguars settled here. Here's hoping it doesn't bite them, but history tells us it probably will. 

All DVOA numbers cited are courtesy of Football Outsiders. Learn more about DVOA here.

 

Rivers McCown is the AFC South lead writer for Bleacher Report and the co-host of the Three-Cone Drill podcast. His work has also appeared on Football Outsiders and ESPN.com. Follow him on Twitter at @riversmccown.