JACKSONVILLE – The Jaguars' offensive staff continues to take shape.
Days after the team announced the hiring of offensive coordinator Greg Olson and assistant head coach-offense/offensive line Doug Marrone, the Jaguars on Tuesday made another change at the position-coach level.
Kelly Skipper, an assistant with the Oakland Raiders the past eight seasons and the Raiders' running backs coach since 2009, on Tuesday was named the Jaguars' running backs coach.
Olson spent the past two seasons as the Raiders' offensive coordinator.
Skipper, 47, has spent his entire eight-year NFL career with the Raiders, coaching the team's tight ends from 2007-2008. The Raiders ranked 21st (106.3 yards per game, 2009), second (155.9, 2010), seventh (131.9, 2011), 28th (88.8, 2012), 12th (125.0, 2013) and 32nd (77.5, 2014) in the NFL in rushing during his six seasons as running backs coach.
Skipper will coach a position group that includes not only Denard Robinson, but Toby Gerhart, Jordan Todman and Storm Johnson. Robinson missed the last three games of the 2014 season, spending the last two games on injured reserve with a foot injury, and the other three spent the entire season on the active roster.
He was the offensive coordinator at UCLA in 2001-2002 before spending 2003-2006 as the running backs/special teams coach at Washington State. He also coached running backs and kickoff return at UCLA from 1998-2000.
Skipper, who played collegiately at Fresno State, was a graduate assistant there in 1989-1990 and was the running backs coach/recruiting coordinator at Fresno State from 1991-1997.
Robinson, a fifth-round selection in the 2013 NFL Draft, emerged as a starter and started nine games last season, rushing for 582 yards and four touchdowns on 135 carries. Gerhart, who signed as an unrestricted free agent from Minnesota last offseason, started seven games, rushing for 326 yards and two touchdowns on 101 carries.
Todman, who will enter his third season next season, rushed for 186 yards on 32 carries and was one of the Jaguars' top special teams players. Johnson, a seventh-round selection in the 2014 NFL Draft from Central Florida, started one game and finished the season with 86 yards and a touchdown on two carries.
Skipper replaced Terry Richardson, the Jaguars' running backs coach the past two seasons.
