The ASU football team will have a new engineer of its offensive scheme next season.
Coach Dennis Erickson said offensive coordinator Rich Olson, who has been at ASU since 2007, will not return next season.
“It really has nothing to do with what [Olson] did or didn’t do,” Erickson told The Arizona Republic. “It’s more about change and trying to get some new ideas. Rich Olson is a good coach, always has been and always will be. I need to make a change.”
Rumors about Olson’s job being in jeopardy swirled throughout a 2009 season in which ASU finished 93rd in the nation in total offense (334 yards per game).
The team also struggled mightily on offense in 2008, finishing 103rd in the country (309 yards per game).
Erickson took over the play-calling duties from Olson at the beginning of the season, but said he will pass those duties along to the new offensive coordinator.
“After evaluating myself, I need to spend more time with the whole football team,” Erickson told the Republic. “I’ve got to balance my time better.”
Olson, who also coached quarterbacks at ASU, was a part of Erickson’s staff for nine of his 32 years as a coach, including stops with the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle
Seahawks.
Reach the reporter at nkosmide@asu.edu.
