Andy Olson (American Football)
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Andrew Olson (born September 17, 1982) is an
arena football Indoor American football, or arena football, is a variation of gridiron football played at ice hockey-sized indoor arenas. While varying in details from league to league, the rules of indoor football are designed to allow for play in a smaller ...
coach and former wide receiver. He was previously the
head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...
for the
Spokane Shock The Spokane Shock were a professional indoor American football team based in Spokane, Washington, that played their home games at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. The team was initially a member of arenafootball2 (af2), the Shock won divisio ...
and
Portland Thunder The Portland Steel were a professional arena football team based in Portland, Oregon and members of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team started as the Portland Thunder, joining the AFL in 2014 as an expansion team along with the Los Ange ...
of the
Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...
(AFL). He played his
college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...
at the
Western Washington University Western Washington University (WWU or Western) is a public university in Bellingham, Washington. The northernmost university in the contiguous United States, WWU was founded in 1893 as the state-funded New Whatcom Normal School, succeeding a pri ...
, and was an
af2 The AF2 (often styled as af2, and short for arenafootball2) was the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like its parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football ru ...
wide receiver from 2008 to 2009. He has been a football coach since 2011. After being the
offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of an American football or Canadian football team who is in charge of the team's offense. Generally, along with the defensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator, this coach re ...
for the
Spokane Shock The Spokane Shock were a professional indoor American football team based in Spokane, Washington, that played their home games at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. The team was initially a member of arenafootball2 (af2), the Shock won divisio ...
in 2011, he became the Shock head coach in 2012. Olson grew up in
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...
then continued his high school career at
W. F. West High School William F. West High School, commonly referred to as W. F. West, is a public high school in Chehalis, Washington, United States. It is the only high school in the Chehalis School District. It was named for local businessman William F. West, who do ...
in
Chehalis, Washington Chehalis ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lewis County, Washington. The population was 7,439 at the time of the 2020 census. Incorporated in 1883, Chehalis was primarily a logging and railroad town, with a shift towards farming in the m ...
. Andy then enrolled at
Western Washington University Western Washington University (WWU or Western) is a public university in Bellingham, Washington. The northernmost university in the contiguous United States, WWU was founded in 1893 as the state-funded New Whatcom Normal School, succeeding a pri ...
, and played wide receiver on the
Western Washington Vikings football The Western Washington Vikings program represented Western Washington University in college football at the NCAA Division II level. The Vikings were members of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference The Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GN ...
team from 2001 to 2005. The
Spokane Shock The Spokane Shock were a professional indoor American football team based in Spokane, Washington, that played their home games at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. The team was initially a member of arenafootball2 (af2), the Shock won divisio ...
signed Olson after he went unselected in the
2006 NFL Draft The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with ad ...
. He played 2 years as a wide receiver in the af2 with the Shock (2008–2009), helping them win the last
ArenaCup The ArenaCup was the af2's championship game. For the league's first five years, it was held at the arena of the higher seeded team. However, the 2005 ArenaCup was the first to be played at a neutral site in Bossier City, Louisiana. The 2006 Aren ...
in 2009. In 2011, while being one year removed from the af2, Olson was named
offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of an American football or Canadian football team who is in charge of the team's offense. Generally, along with the defensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator, this coach re ...
for the Shock, who had moved up to the
Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...
. Under head coach
Rob Keefe Rob Keefe (born November 5, 1980) is a former arena football defensive specialist and coach. Keefe has five championship victories and is the only person in arena football history to win ArenaCup (af2) and ArenaBowl (AFL) titles as both a player ...
, whom Olson had played for in 2009. After the Shock lost during the 2011 postseason, Keefe was fired, and Olson was offered the head coaching job of the Shock. Olson helped the Shock return to the postseason in 2013, while also coaching the league MVP, Offensive Player of the Year and Wide Receiver of the Year. On September 11, 2015, Olson was named the head coach of the
Portland Thunder The Portland Steel were a professional arena football team based in Portland, Oregon and members of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team started as the Portland Thunder, joining the AFL in 2014 as an expansion team along with the Los Ange ...
. However, before he could coach a down in Portland, he and his staff were abruptly replaced by new head coach Ron James on January 30, 2016 by the AFL weeks after they took over the team.


Early life

Olson attended
W. F. West High School William F. West High School, commonly referred to as W. F. West, is a public high school in Chehalis, Washington, United States. It is the only high school in the Chehalis School District. It was named for local businessman William F. West, who do ...
in
Chehalis, Washington Chehalis ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lewis County, Washington. The population was 7,439 at the time of the 2020 census. Incorporated in 1883, Chehalis was primarily a logging and railroad town, with a shift towards farming in the m ...
. While at W. F. West, Olson was a member of the football, wrestling and soccer teams. As a member of the football team, he finished his career with 94 receptions, 1,758 yards and 13 touchdowns. Olson was drawing attention from many colleges, but lost scholarship offers when he tore his
MCL The litre (international spelling) or liter (American English spelling) (SI symbols L and l, other symbol used: ℓ) is a metric unit of volume. It is equal to 1 cubic decimetre (dm3), 1000 cubic centimetres (cm3) or 0.001 cubic metre (m3) ...
in the final game of high school football.


College career

Olson accepted a scholarship offer from
Western Washington University Western Washington University (WWU or Western) is a public university in Bellingham, Washington. The northernmost university in the contiguous United States, WWU was founded in 1893 as the state-funded New Whatcom Normal School, succeeding a pri ...
where his brother, Lann, had been a
linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...
.


Professional career


Georgia Force

Olson spent six weeks on the practice squad of the
Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...
's
Georgia Force The Georgia Force was an Arena Football League (AFL) team based in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States (part of suburban Atlanta) that played in the South Division of the American Conference. The team was owned by Doug MacGregor and Donn Je ...
, before being released.


Spokane Shock

Olson was signed by the
Spokane Shock The Spokane Shock were a professional indoor American football team based in Spokane, Washington, that played their home games at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. The team was initially a member of arenafootball2 (af2), the Shock won divisio ...
of
af2 The AF2 (often styled as af2, and short for arenafootball2) was the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like its parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football ru ...
quickly after his release from the Force. Olson played the 2008 and 2009 seasons with the Shock, collecting over 220 receptions.


Coaching career

In 2011, Olson was named the
offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of an American football or Canadian football team who is in charge of the team's offense. Generally, along with the defensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator, this coach re ...
for the Shock, working under his former head coach,
Rob Keefe Rob Keefe (born November 5, 1980) is a former arena football defensive specialist and coach. Keefe has five championship victories and is the only person in arena football history to win ArenaCup (af2) and ArenaBowl (AFL) titles as both a player ...
. Keefe was fired after the 2011 season, and Olson was promoted to head coach. Olson helped the Shock return to the postseason in 2013, while also coaching the league MVP, Offensive Player of the Year and the Wide Receiver of the Year. After the 2015 season, Olson stated that he was leaving the Shock. On September 11, 2015, Olson was hired as the head coach of the
Portland Thunder The Portland Steel were a professional arena football team based in Portland, Oregon and members of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team started as the Portland Thunder, joining the AFL in 2014 as an expansion team along with the Los Ange ...
. However, before he could coach a down in Portland, he and his staff were abruptly fired and replaced by new head coach Ron James on January 30, 2016 by the AFL weeks after they took over the team.


Coaching record


References


External links


Andy Olson (coach) at ArenaFan OnlineAndy Olson (player) at ArenaFan OnlineSpokane Shock Bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olson, Andy 1982 births Living people American football wide receivers Western Washington Vikings football players Spokane Shock players Portland Thunder coaches Spokane Shock coaches People from Chehalis, Washington