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Michael Rothstein, ESPN Staff Writer
The Atlanta Falcons are bringing over more than just their new head coach from the Los Angeles Rams.
In one of the first hires for new Falcons coach Raheem Morris, he is tabbing Zac Robinson to be the team’s offensive coordinator, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Robinson, 37, had been the quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator for the Rams for the past two seasons as he worked his way up the coaching ranks there.
The former NFL and Oklahoma State quarterback had spent his entire coaching career with the Rams, starting as the assistant quarterbacks coach in 2019, becoming the assistant receivers coach in 2020, and again working as the assistant quarterbacks coach in 2021 before his promotion to passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2022.
Among the skill position players Robinson will have to work with are running backs Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier, receiver Drake London and tight ends Kyle Pitts and Jonnu Smith, who are all under contract for 2024. All five of the team’s starting offensive linemen from last season also are under contract, including Pro Bowl right guard Chris Lindstrom.
The question for Robinson will be at quarterback. Atlanta has both of last season’s starters, Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinicke, under contract for 2024. However, one of the reasons the Falcons fired Arthur Smith after three seasons on Jan. 8 was the play of the quarterbacks, which team owner Arthur Blank called “deficient.”
Robinson has worked with Matthew Stafford the past three seasons and also with Jared Goff during Robinson’s first season with the Rams in 2019. Now, he might be developing a younger quarterback, depending how the Falcons decide to handle their quarterback room.
Robinson was a seventh-round pick in 2010 by the New England Patriots as a quarterback out of Oklahoma State. He spent time with New England, the Seattle Seahawks, Detroit Lions and Cincinnati Bengals but never threw a pass in a regular-season NFL game.
He then became a quarterback development coach in Texas and worked for the analytics website Pro Football Focus before turning to coaching, being hired with the Rams.
Atlanta also retained special teams coordinator Marquice Williams on Saturday, a league source told ESPN, allowing the Falcons to keep one of the top special teams coordinators in the league and also offering continuity on the staff while the club transitions from Smith to Morris.