NEWSLETTER
The Chicago Bears are currently searching for a new offensive coordinator. They have already interviewed two Seattle Seahawks assistants. According to a report by NFL reporter Michael Silver, the Bears have completed an interview with Greg Olson, the assistant offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Seahawks.
This follows a previous report that the Bears had scheduled an interview with Shane Waldron, the current offensive coordinator for the Seahawks, who might soon be leaving the team.
Getting to Know Bears Offensive Coordinator Candidates: Shane Waldron | Klint Kubiak | Liam Coen
Who is Greg Olson?
Greg Olson is a name that Bears fans of a certain age may be familiar with. Olson served as the Bears quarterbacks coach in 2003 under Dick Jauron. The Bears went 7-9 that season, and Olson’s quarterbacks’ room consisted of the ghosts of Kordell Stewart, Chris Chandler, and rookie Rex Grossman.
Stewart started seven games, Chandler six, and Grossman three in a season in which the Bears offense ranked 23rd in scoring. Jauron and his staff were fired following that season, and the Bears hired Lovie Smith.
Olson had plenty of collegiate experience before his time with the Bears, including at Purdue, Idaho, Central Washington, and Washington State, with a stop with the 49ers sprinkled in there in 2001. Since departing Chicago, Olson has been an offensive coordinator multiple times, including stints with the Lions, Rams, Buccaneers, Jaguars, and Raiders.
Olson is a veteran NFL coach with decades of experience that includes plenty of play-calling and a box checked on the résumé that the Bears seem to be leaning into with most of their known OC candidates.
Relevant Experience
Potential Fit
Suppose the Bears are interested in hiring an experienced offensive mind with plenty of play-calling experience. In that case, Olson is as good a fit as any known candidate for their offensive coordinator vacancy.
If they’re looking for someone who has had success working with quarterbacks, Olson’s fingerprints on various quarterbacks span back to his days at Purdue working under offensive coordinator Jim Chaney in the late 90s.
Chaney and Olson played a part in helping Drew Brees become a Heisman finalist in 1999 and 2000 and a Maxwell Award winner in 2000. That 2000 Purdue team won a Big Ten title and played Washington in the Rose Bowl.
Olson was the St. Louis Rams OC from 2005 to 2006 and helped the Rams offensive reach the upper third of the NFL in most offensive ranks. In 2006, the Rams offense ranked sixth in the NFL in total offense with 360.4 yards per game. St. Louis’ passing offense ranked third in the NFC and became just the fourth team in NFL history to produce a 4,000-yard passer (Marc Bulger), a 1,500-yard rusher (Steven Jackson), and two 1,000-yard receivers (Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce).
Olson replaced Paul Hackett as the QBs coach in Tampa Bay in January 2008 and worked with Josh Johnson, the 17th pick in the 2009 NFL Draft. Freeman threw for 8,898 yards and 51 touchdowns during his first three seasons before Olson left Tampa to take the assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach in Jacksonville in 2012.
Other quarterbacks that Olson has worked with include Chad Henne, Blaine Gabbert, Derek Carr, Blake Bortles, and Jared Goff.
My Two Cents
At first glance, nothing on Greg Olson’s extensive resume screams: “That’s the guy!” But a deeper look found some impressive work. I mentioned his time with Drew Brees at Purdue while working under Jim Chaney.
There’s also some work with NFL quarterbacks who had much lesser careers than Brees but have had their best seasons while working with Olson.
Joey Harrington had his best NFL season in an otherwise short and mediocre career in 2004 when Olson was in Detroit. Harrington threw for 3,047 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions, career-highs in yardage and touchdowns.
In 2015 and 2016, Olson helped Blake Bortles throw for 8,333 yards and 58 touchdowns. The following season, Olson went to Los Angeles as the Rams quarterbacks coach and helped Jared Goff throw for 3,804 yards, 28 touchdowns, and seven interceptions.
Olson isn’t the sexiest name in the search, and he’s never really stuck anywhere (which will be a vital conversation in this process). Still, he’s got a plethora of results when it comes to extracting the most out of the quarterbacks and offenses that he works with.
