Getty Former Las Vegas Raiders OC Greg Olson.
Though Josh McDaniels has retained some members of the Las Vegas Raiders coaching staff, it will almost look completely different in 2022. One of the big changes the coach made was at offensive coordinator. The team decided to move on from Greg Olson and replace him with Mick Lombardi.
Olson was thrust into playcalling duties early in the season after Jon Gruden resigned. He had previous experience as a playcaller but he couldn’t fix the Raiders’ red zone scoring issues. McDaniels will likely call plays so it wouldn’t have made much sense to bring Olson back. With him now a free agency, he’s been hired as a senior offensive assistant for the Los Angeles Rams, per Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated.
Source: The Rams are hiring Kentucky OC Liam Coen as their new offensive coordinator, bringing Greg Olson back to the staff, and giving assistant head coach Thomas Brown more responsibility within the offense and team.
Sean McVay moving quick to put together his ’22 staff.
Olson was previously the quarterbacks coach for the Rams in 2017 until the Raiders poached him to become offensive coordinator. He clearly impressed head coach Sean McVay considering he was brought back. Olson is a veteran offensive mind who should only help one of the soundest offensive systems in the NFL.
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McDaniels Is Big Fan of New Raiders OC
With Lombardi replacing Olson on the Raiders staff, the team has embraced youth over experience. During his time with the team, Gruden didn’t really take advantage of young up-and-comers, instead favoring proven commodities. McDaniels’ approach will differ.
Lombardi is just 33-years-old and was the wide receivers coach for the New England Patriots over the last two seasons. He’s also spent time as an offensive assistant for the New York Jets and San Francisco 49ers. Time will tell how he fares in a larger role but McDaniels has confidence in him.
“First and foremost, Mick’s a fabulous human being,” McDaniels said during last season. “I thoroughly enjoy working with Mick. He’s bright, he’s extremely hard working.”
“We don’t have anybody who works harder than he does. We have a lot of guys work really hard too and he puts in the hours. He’s here early, here late. His group is always prepared.”
The praise didn’t stop there.
“He’s a very thorough coach,” McDaniels said. “His group would tell you do that. He makes sure every tee is crossed and every eye is dotted in his position group.”
Josh McDaniels last year being asked about working with Mic Lombardi
McDaniels Sees Himself in Lombardi
Raiders fans should be familiar with Lombardi’s father Michael, who was a senior personnel executive with the team from 1998 to 2007. Similar to his father, Mick Lombardi has dedicated his life to football. McDaniels sees a lot of himself in the young coach.
“He sees the game very similarly to myself,” McDaniels said. “In terms of the passing game, he identified his coverages very well. He handles huge responsibility when it comes to reporting on the red zone. Prepares our team offense for that area of our game plan.”
Lombardi’s role should be limited compared to other offensive coordinators. McDaniels has a system that he’ll run and he should be calling the plays more often than not. However, having a bright young mind working on the offense can only help.
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