Former Richland QB to Teams Up With Gruden On Raiders

Now that 'Chucky' Jon Gruden is back with the Raiders in the NFL, his staff will include a coach who not only developed Drew Brees at Purdue, but also several other notable signal callers.

Greg Olson, who graduated from Richland in 1981, has been the Rams Quarterback Coach the last year, and is credited with the development and improvement of Jared Goff. Prior to that, he was the one who 'straightened out' Blake Bortles in Jacksonville in 2015. After leaving the Jaguars, it's been noted Bortles has not achieved the same success he had under Olson's guidance.

According to the Raider's website silverandblackpride.com,  this is what Gruden had to say about the former Bomber:

“Greg Olson coached Derek Carr for a year here,” Gruden said in his introductory press conference. “His intel there will be very important. He coached with me in Tampa and he coached with Sean McVay, one of my ex-assistants, in LA. So, the system of football that we run will be a real natural flow.”

A couple of season's ago, Olson came very close to getting the Head Coaching job of the Raiders while serving as offensive coordinator in 2014.  It's believed perhaps in a few years that might happen for him.

Prior to making his way to Purdue as QB coach, Olson played at Spokane Falls Community College and Central WA University. As a senior he led Richland to the state semi-finals in 1980, beating Mark Rypien and Shadle Park and Gonzaga Prep along the way before falling 28-26 to eventual repeat 3A champ Mt. Tahoma.  He played on what is regarded as probably the most talented RHS team ever, at least in the opinion of former coach, the late great J.D. Covington.