LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Rams closed in on a new quarterbacks coach for No. 1 overall pick Jared Goff on Wednesday, with a league source telling ESPN's Adam Schefter that former Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator Greg Olson has agreed to terms.
Olson, who will join the staff of 30-year-old rookie head coach Sean McVay, has spent 15 years in the NFL as either an offensive coordinator or quarterbacks coach or both. One of those stops came with the then-St. Louis Rams from 2006 to 2007, where he was the offensive coordinator for an offense that had Marc Bulger under center. Olson steered a balanced, high-powered Rams offense that gained the NFL's sixth-most yards and went 8-8 in 2006, but that unit fell to 24th in yards during a 3-13 season in 2007.
Olson was quarterbacks coach for the San Francisco 49ers' Jeff Garcia (2001) and the Chicago Bears' trio of Kordell Stewart, Chris Chandler and Rex Grossman (2003). He was offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach with the Detroit Lions (2004 to 2005) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2008 to 2011), assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach with the Jaguars (2012) and offensive coordinator for the Oakland Raiders (2013 to 2014). Under Olson, the Jaguars' offense made significant strides in 2015, averaging nearly 350 yards and 24 points per game. But the unit regressed through the first two months of 2016, specifically in the running game, and there were reports of a disconnect between Olson and quarterback Blake Bortles -- which might have played a part in Olson's firing in late October.
Olson previously seemed like a favorite to become the Buffalo Bills' offensive coordinator, but instead chose to reunite with McVay, a low-level assistant during Olson's first season in Tampa Bay. Olson now replaces former Heisman Trophy winner Chris Weinke, who was in only his second year as an NFL coach when he inherited Goff in 2016. The Rams have previously agreed to terms with Wade Phillips (defensive coordinator), Joe Barry (assistant head coach and linebackers coach) and Bill Johnson (defensive line coach). None of the additions have been formally announced, but Phillips and Barry are expected to sign their deals by Thursday.
The New York Jets announced Wednesday that they hired former Rams defensive backs coach Dennard Wilson for the same position, making him at least the fifth assistant to depart this offseason. There's also Gregg Williams (new the Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator) Mike Waufle (Bills defensive line coach), Clyde Simmons (Browns defensive line coach) and former offensive coordinator Rob Boras (Bills tight ends coach). Rock Gullickson joined the University of Tennessee as director of strength and conditioning.