Olson previously served as the quarterbacks coach of the Detroit Lions, where he worked with Joey Harrington. He served as Lions offensive coordinator following the firing of Steve Mariucci and the demotion of Ted Tollner during the 2005 season.
He was the offensive coordinator of the St. Louis Rams. During his first season in St. Louis, he did not call the offensive plays for the team until near the end of the year. He developed game plans with head coach Scott Linehan, and worked to develop the offense in general. Linehan decided to hand over play-calling duties to Olson so that he could manage games better, without having to focus on one side of the ball.
Olson was fired after the 2007 season.[1]
In January 2008, Olson was hired by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to be their Quarterbacks coach following the dismissal of Paul Hackett. On September 3 2009, the day before the team's final preseason game, the Buccaneers announced that Olson would replace Jeff Jagodzinski as Offensive Coordinator