Editing Merlin Olsen (section)

== Post-football career ==
Olsen enjoyed continued success after the NFL as a broadcaster, actor, and businessman.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://theenterprisereport.typepad.com/news/2010/03/breaking-news-the-fearsome-foursome-now-two-nfl-legend-merlin-olsen-dead-at-69.html| title=BREAKING NEWS: The Fearsome Foursome now two: NFL Legend Merlin Olsen Dead at 69| website=The Enterprise Report| date=March 11, 2010}}</ref>

Olsen served as a [[television]] [[color commentator]], teaming mostly with [[Dick Enberg]] on [[NFL on NBC|NBC]]'s coverage of the [[American Football Conference|AFC]] during the late 1970s and almost all of the 1980s. He and Enberg also teamed for four [[Super Bowl]]s ([[Super Bowl XV|XV]], [[Super Bowl XVII|XVII]], [[Super Bowl XX|XX]] and [[Super Bowl XXIII|XXIII]]), as well as nine [[Rose Bowl Game|Rose Bowls]] from [[1980 Rose Bowl|1980]] to [[1988 Rose Bowl|1988]]. Olsen also worked [[Super Bowl XIII]] in 1979 with [[Curt Gowdy]] and [[John Brodie]] (Enberg was then serving as pre-game/halftime/post-game host). In [[1989 NFL season|1989]], Olsen was replaced by<ref>{{cite web |url=http://classicsportsmedia.blogspot.com/2013/02/history-of-1-analyst-demotions.html |title=History of #1 analyst demotions |date=February 18, 2013 |work=Classic Sports TV and Media |access-date=April 13, 2013}}</ref> [[Bill Walsh (American football coach)|Bill Walsh]] as NBC's lead NFL color commentator. For the 1989 season, Olsen worked with [[Charlie Jones (sportscaster)|Charlie Jones]] on NBC's broadcasts. In [[1990 NFL season|1990]] and [[1991 NFL season|1991]], he moved to [[NFL on CBS|CBS Sports]] doing NFL games with [[Dick Stockton]].

Olsen developed a successful career as an actor. He appeared as the character Little George in the [[John Wayne]] movie, ''[[The Undefeated (1969 film)|The Undefeated]]'', with Rams teammate [[Roman Gabriel]], in 1969.

In 1970, he appeared once on ''[[Petticoat Junction]]'', playing mountaineer Merlin Fergus in the episode "With This Ring".

When ''[[Little House on the Prairie (TV series)|Little House on the Prairie]]'' actor [[Victor French]] left to star in his own comedy ''[[Carter Country]]'' in 1977, Olsen was tapped to play [[Michael Landon]]'s new sidekick Jonathan Garvey for several years. One memorable quote from his character's son Andy Garvey, "My pa doesn't know anything about football!" came when Andy's friends suggested that Jonathan coach their football team.

Olsen played the starring role of John Michael Murphy in the 1981-83 [[NBC]] television drama series ''[[Father Murphy]]''.

In the ''[[Highway to Heaven]]'' episode 2.12 ("The Good Doctor"), the main character, Alex, tells Mark Gordon (Victor French) that "All I could see was the flowers and the beard.  I thought you were Merlin Olsen." This is an inside joke since Olsen, Landon, and French were in the TV series ''Little House on the Prairie''  earlier in their careers.

Olsen's last acting work was in the short-lived [[1988 in American television|1988]] TV series ''[[Aaron's Way]]''.

Olsen was also the [[Television commercial|commercial]] spokesman for [[Florists' Transworld Delivery|FTD Florists]] for many years. A part-time resident of the [[Coachella Valley]], Olsen was the longtime radio and television spokesman for [[Palm Desert, California|Palm Desert]]-based El Paseo Bank.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mydesert.com/article/20100311/NEWS01/100311013|title=The Desert Sun - Palm Springs and Coachella Valley news|website=Desert Sun}}</ref>

Olsen also appeared in many [[Sigma Chi]] fraternity promotional campaigns; he and his brother Phil were Life Loyal Sigs, Significant Sigs (given to members for distinguishing acts outside the fraternity), and  members of the Order of Constantine (given for service to the Fraternity). Olsen donated one of his cleats, which were [[bronze]]d, to be used during the annual football rivalry between two [[Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas]] high schools, [[Eldorado High School (Nevada)|Eldorado High School]] and [[Chaparral High School (Nevada)|Chaparral High School]], which both opened in 1973.<ref name=cleat1>{{cite news|author=Ray Brewer (March 11, 2010)|title="Merlin Olsen's death felt at Eldorado, Chaparral"|newspaper=Las Vegas Sun|url=https://lasvegassun.com/blogs/high-school-sports-scene/2010/mar/11/merlin-olsens-death-felt-chaparral-eldorado/|access-date=8 January 2020}}</ref> Each year, Olsen presented the "trophy" in the ceremony at the rivalry game.{{citation needed|date=March 2010}}

Olsen often co-hosted the [[Children's Miracle Network]] [[telethon]]s, a humanitarian organization founded in 1983 by [[Marie Osmond]] and [[John Schneider (screen actor)|John Schneider]].