Raiders coach Jon Gruden announces hiring of Greg Olson as offensive coordinator - Los Angeles Times
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Raiders coach Jon Gruden announces hiring of Greg Olson as offensive coordinator

Rams head coach Sean McVay, third from left left, and quarterbacks coach Greg Olson look over the play sheets while backup quarterback Sean Mannion, left, and starting quarterback Jared Goff stand nearby during a break against the Seattle Seahawks at the Coliseum on Oct. 8, 2017.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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New Oakland Raiders coach Jon Gruden announced Tuesday that he had hired Rams’ quarterbacks coach Greg Olson as offensive coordinator.

Olson, working with coach Sean McVay and offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur, helped quarterback Jared Goff develop into a top-10 passer this season.

Gruden, who gave McVay his first coaching job with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, made the announcement during an introductory news conference in Oakland. Gruden cited Olson’s experience coaching Raiders quarterback Derek Carr when he was the team’s offensive coordinator in 2014.

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“His intel there will be very important,†Gruden said. “He coached with me in Tampa and he coached with Sean McVay, one of my ex-assistants in L.A., so the system of football that we run there will be a real natural flow.â€

The Rams play the Raiders in Oakland next season, giving McVay the opportunity to match wits with his mentor Gruden.

“Great coach, great motivator, great leader, great teacher in terms of just understanding the big picture,†McVay said this week when Gruden’s hiring was imminent. “He’s gotten exposed to a lot of different things.

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“I’ll be interested to see, will he run the same offense that he was running when I got a chance to work with him in Tampa? Or will he now implement some of the different things that he’s had a chance to kind of continue to get exposure to over the last handful of years?

“Either way, hate the fact that the we’ll have to go against his next year. It will be fun. But he’s a great coach and you see why Oakland is so excited about being able to get him back to the Raiders.â€

Asked if he was concerned that Gruden would steal his plays, McVay laughed.

“No,†he said. “We’ve stolen his plays, so that’s more what it is.â€

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