Falcons OC Zac Robinson to call plays from coaching booth

The Atlanta Falcons have some new pieces on offense and a new offensive coordinator entering Sunday’s opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Zac Robinson, the former quarterbacks coach and pass-game coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams, will make his NFL play-calling debut against Atlanta’s former play-caller in Week 1.

Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, who served as the Falcons head coach and play-caller for the last three seasons, returns to Atlanta for Sunday’s highly anticipated matchup. While Robinson has less experience, he has a better cast to work with than Smith, particularly at the quarterback position.

The Falcons signed Kirk Cousins and drafted Michael Penix Jr. to operate Robinson’s offense for the foreseeable future. However, don’t expect to see Robinson calling plays from the sideline this season.

According to ESPN’s Marc Raimondi, the Falcons’ first-year offensive coordinator will call plays from up in the coaching booth. Robinson operated in the booth during the preseason and said he liked the vantage point.

Robinson, 37, spent the last five seasons on Sean McVay’s staff in Los Angeles. He joined the Rams as the assistant quarterbacks coach in 2019 before serving as the assistant wide receivers coach in 2020. Robinson went back to coaching the quarterbacks in 2021 and was promoted to pass-game coordinator/QB coach in 2022.

Robinson worked closely with Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford that season and the team would go on to win the Super Bowl. The Falcons hope Robinson can help elevate an extremely talented offensive unit in Atlanta this season.

While Cousins has some similarities to Stafford, his lack of postseason success has been his Achilles heel. Cousins’ actual Achilles failed him last season, prematurely ending his six-year run with the Minnesota Vikings after eight games. The Falcons feel good about their quarterback’s recovery and expect big things from the offense in 2024.

The pressure will be on Robinson to help the team reach its potential this season. The upside is off the charts with pieces like running back Bijan Robinson, wide receiver Drake London and tight end Kyle Pitts. Bijan Robinson is already a huge fan of his new offensive coordinator, calling him a “mastermind” during a recent interview with NFL reporter Kay Adams.

“What makes him different is like if we have an input on something, he’s going to listen to it and he might implement it like the next day and try it,” explained the second-year running back. “And I think that’s how you become a really good offense.”

The Falcons and Steelers face off on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET in Atlanta. Check out the game info, including the depth chart and injury report, for Week 1 below: