Tag: zac robinson

Rams hiring former Falcons OC Dave Ragone as QBs coach

Zac Robinson replaced Dave Ragone as the Falcons’ OC, and now Ragone is replacing Robinson as the Rams’ QBs coach

The Atlanta Falcons hired Zac Robinson as their new offensive coordinator, and now the Los Angeles Rams are hiring the guy whose job he took to be their new quarterbacks coach. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Rams are hiring Dave Ragone, who was the Falcons’ offensive coordinator for the last three seasons. He’ll replace Robinson on the Rams’ staff, coaching Matthew Stafford and the quarterbacks next season.

Ragone, 44, has coached in the NFL since 2011, beginning as the Titans’ wide receivers coach for two years before becoming their quarterbacks coach in 2013. He also had a stint in Washington in 2015, which is where he crossed paths with Sean McVay, as well as a stop with the Bears from 2016-2020.

Ragone was actually on the Rams’ offseason roster in 2006 as a quarterback, but he was cut before the season began. He played in the NFL from 2003-2007, though he only played two games in his career as a member of the Texans in 2003.

Falcons OC Zac Robinson: Matthew Stafford is ‘the smartest guy I’ve been around’

Former Rams QBs coach Zac Robinson called Matthew Stafford “the smartest guy” he’s been around

Zac Robinson rose the ranks within the Los Angeles Rams’ coaching staff since first being hired as the assistant quarterbacks coach in 2019, his first job as an NFL coach. During his time in L.A., he worked closely with Matthew Stafford, who landed with the Rams in a 2021 trade with the Lions.

Robinson and Stafford became a great pairing but this offseason, Robinson left to become the Falcons’ new offensive coordinator on Raheem Morris’ staff. He spoke with reporters on Wednesday and had some effusive praise for Stafford, who he was teammates with in Detroit for 10 months.

Robinson said Stafford is “the smartest guy” he’s been around, even calling him a Hall of Famer.

Stafford is one of the most experienced quarterbacks in the NFL, so hearing Robinson talk about how smart and impressive he is shouldn’t come as a surprise. The Rams have yet to replace Robinson as their quarterbacks coach but whoever they do hire will have the benefit of working with a veteran as talented and smart as Stafford.

Falcons OC Zac Robinson explains what he looks for in a quarterback

“You gotta have a guy that wants to have the ball in his hands in those crunch-time moments,” Falcons OC Zac Robinson on QB traits

The Atlanta Falcons still have plenty to figure out before the 2024 season begins, but the future of the quarterback position is the team’s biggest remaining question mark going into the offseason.

Shortly after accepting the Falcons head-coaching job, Raheem Morris hired former Rams quarterbacks coach/pass-game coordinator Zac Robinson as Atlanta’s offensive coordinator. Robinson spent the past few years in Los Angeles working with Matthew Stafford and knows what a good QB looks like up close.

On Wednesday, Atlanta’s new play-caller met with the media and laid out what he likes in a quarterback.

“When you look at that position, that guy’s gotta be the most competitive guy in the room,” said Robinson. “They gotta have mental and physical toughness. They gotta be able to think. They gotta have mental capacity. They gotta be able to throw the football accurately.”

Robinson said the team was still evaluating the team’s current quarterbacks — Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinicke — but made it clear what he wants in a QB.

“You gotta have a guy that wants to have the ball in his hands in those crunch-time moments, so that’s what we’re looking for,” said Robinson. “Whether it’s a pocket guy, whether it’s a guy that can move around a little bit, we’re just looking for the best guy.”

Top 3 fantasy impacts from coaching changes

Change can be a good thing, even in the first season

One of the more underrated and hard-to-calculate impacts on teams is when they choose to change their coaching staff. It may be a clean sweep or just a coordinator or two, but it does change how the offense works. Add in the change in player personnel and an offense may drastically differ from one season to the next.

2024 is yet another season of change. To date, we have eight new head coaches (1 in 4), 14 new offensive coordinators and 15 new defensive coordinators – nearly half of the league. To further show how much change is always in play, consider that only three offensive coordinators have been in that role for more than two years.

Basically, every three years there’s been an almost clean sweep of coordinators. Some are released and accept position coaching jobs elsewhere or a lucky few (or this year eight) step up into head coaching roles on the premise that success at one level means success at the next, however incorrect that typically proves.

Let’s take a quick look at the three teams that will have the best shot at a positive impact on fantasy football from their changes.

Atlanta Falcons

2023 Atlanta team rankings

ATL RUN Rank RYD Rank RTD Rank PASS Rank Rank PYDS Rank PTD Rank
QB 69 12 323 11 6 5 528 25 326 3753 22 17 26
RB 450 1 1840 4 8 17 124 6 88 751 4 6 5
WR 209 32 124 1650 32 4 32
TE 174 3 114 1380 1 7 10

Arthur Smith was the head coach for the last three seasons and each time the Falcons ended 7-10. They’ve had seven wins in five of their last six years, so there’s been no progress since 2017.  They’ve been below average with the pass and it worsened after Matt Ryan left in 2022. The overall stats from the running game were very good – Top-5 in almost every category. But the inability to pass the ball left the Falcons unable to keep up with most opponents. Today’s NFL may be pass-happy, but the Falcons never got that memo rated No. 32 dead last in every wide receiver measurement.

2023 Atlanta player stats

POS 2023 FALCONS GMS RUN RYD RTD PASS CMP PYDS PTD FF pts
QB Desmond Ridder 15 53 193 5 388 249 2836 12 239.1
RB Bijan Robinson 17 214 976 4 86 58 487 4 252.3
RB Tyler Allgeier 17 186 683 4 23 18 193 1 135.6
TE Kyle Pitts 17 1 -4 0 90 53 667 3 137.3
TE Jonnu Smith 15 1 0 0 70 50 582 3 126.2
WR Drake London 16 0 0 0 110 69 905 2 171.5

The lack of success passing to wide receivers was egregious since they drafted Drake London (1.08) as the first wideout selected in 2022. They made Kyle Pitts (1.04) the highest-drafted tight end in NFL history.  Then they made Bijan Robinson (1.08) the top running back selected in 2023. That’s expensive draft capital for elite stars. The offense has three skill players who were the best in their position coming out of college.

But the frustration for fantasy owners, and to a lesser degree Falcon fans, was Arthur Smith’s insistence to mix-and-match with running backs and tight ends, and not throw much to his star wideout. Robinson came out of Texas as the consummate workhorse back. But he only ranked No. 19 in carries despite playing in all 17 games.

Kyle Pitts opened with 1,026 yards as a rookie but disappointed the last two years. He injured his PCL and MCL in 2022 and was still trying to get past that last year. But Arthur Smith’s offense took three collegiate superstars and seemingly underused each. Or maybe relying on the third-round quarterback was complicit in the disappointment.

New: HC Raheem Morris, OC Zac Robinson

New head coach Raheem Morris was primarily a defensive coordinator for the Rams these last three years, and he was the head coach for the Buccaneers in 2009-2011 when that team went 3-13, 10-6, and 4-12. Those were the first three years for Josh Freeman at quarterback, the start of LeGarrette Blount, the disappointment of Kellen Winslow, and a few years of Mike Williams (the first one, not the current Charger) playing over his head.

But that was a decade ago. Morris was most recently directing the Rams defense including during their 2021 Super Bowl win. He tabbed Zac Robinson as the new offensive coordinator and he was the QB coach for the Rams these last three years, and their WR coach in 2020. So he has Sean McVay for an influence and more excitedly, has been immersed in the Rams’ passing game for the last four years. Granted, he didn’t make Matthew Stafford, but he’s been involved with one of the better passing offenses.

The talent is here. There is star power at every skill position other than quarterback which the Falcons are sure to address this year. Adding in their above-average offensive line and there’s the potential for major fantasy points if Robinson can get the right quarterback and optimize the talent in receivers and rushers that the Falcons already possess. It is promising that this run-first offense can change to make better use of all players and pump up the passing game that languished with Desmond Ridder and play calling that left the offense far too conservative.

Los Angeles Chargers

2023 Los Angeles Chargers team rankings

LAC RUN Rank RYD Rank RTD Rank PASS Rank CMP PYDS Rank PTD Rank
QB 79 10 372 8 4 9 630 3 408 4263 10 23 19
RB 327 27 1135 32 7 25 94 19 67 515 19 1 25
WR 386 3 251 2933 8 15 18
TE 132 8 90 854 18 8 9

This team is a little harder to unwind and determine exactly where they are at in terms of players and talent. The passing offense threw a lot of passes thanks to their own defense constantly giving up points to the opposition and turning most games into aerial war as the Chargers tried to catch up. What was odd last year was that they were the worst in the NFL in rushing yards, despite employing OC Kellen Moore who directed the No. 1 backfield in Dallas in 2022.

The failures of the Chargers were related to several key injuries that stripped the passing game of their usual production and the rushing effort hadn’t been that much anyway, but the backfield ended up with the worst rushing yardage in the NFL and then shockingly fell from being No. 1 in all categories pertaining to running back receiving to only 19th in receptions and yards to the position and only one receiving touchdown. The Chargers fell from 10-7 in 2022 to only 5-12.

2023 Chargers player stats

POS 2023 CHARGERS GMS RUN RYD RTD PASS CMP PYDS PTD FF pts
QB Justin Herbert 13 52 228 3 456 297 3134 20 277.5
RB Austin Ekeler 14 179 628 5 74 51 436 1 193.4
TE Gerald Everett 15 3 10 0 70 51 411 3 111.1
WR Keenan Allen 13 2 6 0 150 108 1243 7 274.9
WR Joshua Palmer 10 1 6 0 61 38 581 2 108.7
WR Quentin Johnston 17 3 9 0 67 38 431 2 94
WR Mike Williams 3 1 3 0 26 19 249 1 50.2

The offense underperformed across the board. There was a new offensive coordinator in Kellen Moore and that may partially explain why the free-fall drop in passing to running backs, but the entire offense struggled with injuries to the point that almost none of the original starters remained by season’s end.  Newly drafted wideout Quentin Johnson (1.21) was the second wideout drafted last April but was a bust as a rookie and yet the only skill player that did not miss any games.

Keenan Allen performed as well as ever until his heel injury. Mike Williams was lost almost immediately to a torn ACL. The biggest head-scratcher on the team was Austin Ekeler whose rapid decline gutted the offensive punch, particularly while they kept losing receivers. Both Ekeler and  Josh Kelley are free agents, so a makeover in the backfield is possible.

New: HC Jim Harbaugh, OC Greg Roman

Outgoing head coach  Brandon Staley was not popular. And the impact of a coach that lost the locker room cannot be understated. He was released during the season and the Chargers sputtered to a five-game losing streak to end the year. The Chargers failed expectations in every category, from a  defense that became a major liability, to a passing game that lost nearly every player along the way, to a disgruntled running back playing behind a bad offensive line and ruining whatever goodwill he had created as a top back for a few years.

Harbaugh comes in having been a head coach for the last 20 years between college stints in San Diego, Stanford, and most recently Michigan, plus four seasons leading the 49ers (2011-2014). He was never worse than 8-8 in San Francisco and three years featured at least 11 wins including 2012 when he lost the Super Bowl to the Ravens.

The ex-quarterback has his imprint on all facets of the team including the offense, though new OC Greg Roman will run the offense. Harbaugh’s time with the 49ers included seasons with Colin Kaepernick, Frank Gore, Michael Crabtree, and late-career Anquan Boldin.

Roman brings extensive experience as an offensive coordinator. He was the offensive coordinator for the 49ers during Harbaugh’s four-year tenure there. He held the same position for the Bills (2015-2016) and was last with the Ravens for the last six years, including  three as their offensive coordinator. He stepped down after the 2022 season and now switches brothers since he coached with John Harbaugh in Baltimore and now moves to Los Angeles to rejoin Jim Harbaugh.

He spent three years with Lamar Jackson and tried to improve him as a passer while not losing the special things he did as a rusher. That had mixed results and Todd Monken stepped in as the Ravens’ offensive coordinator with better results in 2023. But Jackson is singular in the NFL, and the offense was devoted to finding how best to use him. It is notable that under Roman in Baltimore that they always employed a committee backfield with J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards (to name but two).

But in his time in San Francisco, Roman used Frank Gore as a 250+ carry back. He again had a rushing quarterback in Kaepernick but won’t have that facet to explore with Justin Herbert who returns from a broken finger but hasn’t been that much of a rusher. Herbert will be the best passer that he’s worked with.

Roman relied on Michael Crabtree heavily, as well as tight end Vernon Davis. What the offseason has to determine is what the backfield will be. It could be an all-new set of starters and unless one clearly outplays the others, a committee will almost certainly be relied on. Roman has been tied to two rushing quarterbacks but overall, he tries to optimize that the offense can do given the players. That advanced the 49ers to a Super Bowl in the past.

This team will probably be undervalued with the changes this year, but Justin Herbert brings elite passing into the equation and that always is a difference-maker.

Tennessee Titans

2023 Tennessee team rankings

TEN RUN Rank RYD Rank RTD Rank PASS Rank CMP PYDS Rank PTD Rank
QB 47 23 152 26 2 20 490 32 302 3498 25 12 31
RB 383 9 1631 11 14 7 106 10 80 599 14 1 23
WR 272 28 158 2262 24 10 24
TE 98 23 65 649 26 2 28

The six-year reign of HC Mike Vrabel wound down with a 6-11 record with a defense that was always capable and often elite if only occasionally. But his offenses were always among the most conservative in the NFL with a great offensive line and a top-notch rushing offense. The Titans have not ranked highly in passing stats for many years and their identity has long been about defense and a sound run game regardless of the direction of the rest of the league.

They threw the fewest passes of any NFL team (302) and only managed 12 passing scores. They were unable to retake leads when they fell behind from the inability to compete through the air. That was challenge enough, but a rushing game that had been elite became average despite being No. 9 in rushing attempts. The offensive line that was once an apex blocking unit declined to being one of the worst.

With no real reason to expect a turnaround from the progressively worse team, they let Vrabel go.

2023 Titans player stats

POS 2023 TITANS GMS RUN RYD RTD PASS CMP PYDS PTD FF pts
QB Will Levis 9 25 57 1 255 149 1808 8 134.1
RB Derrick Henry 17 280 1167 12 36 28 214 0 238.1
RB Tyjae Spears 17 100 453 2 70 52 385 1 153.8
TE Chigoziem Okonkwo 17 2 6 0 77 54 528 1 113.4
WR DeAndre Hopkins 17 2 9 0 137 75 1057 7 223.6

The Titans started the season with Ryan Tannehill but he injured his ankle so they finished with 2.02 pick Will Levis as hopefully the next franchise quarterback and maybe one that might reach the lofty heights of being average as a Titan pass thrower.

Levis inherited a below-average batch of receivers, with 2022 rookie Treylon Burk (1.18) disappointing as did most rookie wideouts that year, despite being the heir-apparent to A.J. Brown. Burks underwhelmed again this year with only 16 catches in nine games. DeAndre Hopkins was the big acquisition and he did manage to clip 1,000 yards and score seven times to dominate the receiving but that was just three 100-yard performances and mostly moderate yardage and no score.

Henry had been a 1,500-yard rusher during most of Vrabel’s regime but he was injured in 2021, bounced back in 2022 (349-1538-13) and then slipped back to only 1,167 yards on 280 runs while never missing a game. Henry is a free agent this season and is expected to move on.  Ryan Tannehill is also past his contract.

New: HC Brian Callahan

If you want a sign of change, look no further than new HC Brian Callahan. Under Mike Vrabel, the Titans wanted to win by running all over their opponent and then dominating with their defense. The upgrade to DeAndre Hopkins was needed and prevented the Titans’ passing game from dropping to historic lows. But Will Levis returns for his second season and this will be an entirely new offense and not just because Derrick Henry will be gone from the first time since 2016.

Callahan has been the offensive coordinator for the Bengals for the last five years. He was a QB coach for the Raiders and Lions for three years prior to landing in Cincinnati. His resume is all about passing offenses including all four seasons with Joe Burrow who has been a 4,500-yard, 35-touchdown quarterback when healthy.

Granted, Burrow was the 1.01 pick of 2020 and entered the league as the most coveted quarterback. Will Levis was the fourth quarterback selected last year but it isn’t entirely fair to evaluate him in the context of that conservative and marginally talented passing offense he had as a rookie. As with any team, the next year is all about who they keep and who they acquire.

Tyjae Spears showed some promise last season and is the apparent No. 1 back in Tennessee barring any player moves. The ex-Tulane back was the fifth running back selected (3.18), so he may have higher upside with Derrick Henry all but gone. The offensive line did no favors last year and would need to see improvement.

Callahan will get whatever he can from Levis who has  32-year-old DeAndre Hopkins in his final contract year and Treylon Burks who entered the  league as a coveted 6-3 receiver out of Arkansas who may be better than expected. He had injury issues and played in arguably one of the worst passing offenses in the league. That gets an upgrade from Callahan importing his effective passing offense from Cincy.

There’s plenty of changes on the team left to witness and that could have major impact. But the tougher challenge from a fantasy perspective is trying to unlearn just how conservative and Derrick Henry-centric the Titans have been, and rethink what the Titans can be.

Raheem Morris sees former Rams QBs coach Zac Robinson as a young McVay, Shanahan

Raheem Morris sees Zac Robinson, his new OC and former Rams QBs coach, as a young Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan

It seems every NFL team wants a piece of the Sean McVay coaching tree and the Atlanta Falcons are certainly picking off the Rams’ branches this offseason. After hiring Raheem Morris as their next head coach, Zac Robinson was brought in as Morris’ offensive coordinator, with Jimmy Lake becoming the Falcons’ defensive coordinator – both former Rams assistants under McVay.

Morris was introduced as the Falcons’ coach on Monday and when talking about Robinson, he mentioned how he reminds him of a young McVay and Kyle Shanahan. That’s some high praise for Robinson, given the success both McVay and Shanahan have had as young head coaches in the NFL.

Robinson, 37, is eight months younger than McVay and he’s been learning under the Rams head coach for the last five years. This is Robinson’s biggest opportunity in the NFL and he’ll call the offensive plays for the Falcons, putting him in line for a potential head coaching job down the line.

For the Rams, his departure certainly hurts, especially given the job he did with Matthew Stafford the last three seasons.

Saints offensive coordinator search: Who’s interviewed twice, who’s off the board

New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator search: Who has interviewed twice, who is off the board, and who is still available?

There isn’t a more important question for the New Orleans Saints to answer right now than this: “Who is calling plays in 2024?”

For the first time in more than a decade, the Saints are searching for a new offensive coordinator — and one who will be calling plays, not just helping Sean Payton design the game plan each week. Getting the most out of cornerstone players like Derek Carr, Alvin Kamara, Chris Olave, and Taysom Hill while curing what ails the offensive line is critical.

It’s no exaggeration to say this is the most important hire that Dennis Allen will make as head coach. If he gets this wrong and the Saints offense starts out on a cripplingly slow pace again, it’ll be curtains for him. He needs to find the right coach who can carry Carr’s positive momentum over into 2024 while reviving one of the NFL’s least-creative rushing attacks. That’s no small task.

And names keep getting added to the search as the Saints interview more and more candidates. We’ll keep this list updated and check in on who is still available, who has gotten a second interview with New Orleans, and who has been taken off the board by other teams:

Falcons fans on Twitter approve of the team’s coordinator choices

#Falcons fans on Twitter were mostly happy with the team’s choices for offensive and defensive coordinator

The Atlanta Falcons hired former Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris as their new head coach, but they didn’t stop there. On Monday, the team announced that two of its three coordinators would be following Morris from Los Angeles to Atlanta.

Zac Robinson, the Rams quarterbacks coach/pass-game coordinator, will take over as the Falcons offensive coordinator, and Rams assistant head coach Jimmy Lake will replace Ryan Nielsen as the team’s defensive coordinator.

Plus, the Falcons are officially keeping special teams coordinator Marquice Williams on staff. Here’s a look at all three coordinators followed by Twitter reactions from Falcons fans.

Falcons hire top Saints OC candidate Zac Robinson

The Falcons are hiring Zac Robinson as their offensive coordinator, taking one of the best-qualified candidates for the Saints off the board:

This is a tough break: the Atlanta Falcons are hiring Zac Robinson as their offensive coordinator, taking the best-qualified candidate for the New Orleans Saints off the board. The Saints had sought a second interview with Robinson, per the MMQB’s Albert Breer, but he’s no longer available.

Robinson had one of the strongest resumes among coaches the Saints had interviewed for their vacancy — his success as the Los Angeles Rams passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach speaks for itself, and he’s landing in a good spot to install the Sean McVay-style offense. Atlanta has spent years investing premium draft picks at the skills positions (selecting playmakers like running back Bijan Robinson, wide receiver Drake London, and tight end Kyle Pitts) and Robinson should get the most out of them.

At least, if Atlanta can find a quarterback. That’s the challenge facing Robinson, new head coach Raheem Morris, and general manager Terry Fontenot (a former Mickey Loomis lieutenant) this offseason. If they can’t get that right they’ll be out of work just like Arthur Smith and the Falcons coaches who came before him.

Losing out on Robinson hurts, but it’s easy to see why he’s choosing Atlanta. He and Morris have coached against one another every day at practice the last three years and they’ve won a lot of games together. Going with a known quantity over a new situation with the Saints is, in his mind, likely the safer call. So we’ll see how that works out for him. We’ll wish Robinson nothing but the worst with the Dirty Birds.

[lawrence-auto-related count=4]

Steelers OC candidate Zac Robinson headed to Falcons

You can mark Zac Robinson off the list of potential offensive coordinator candidates for the Steelers.

The first of the Pittsburgh Steelers potential offensive coordinator candidates is now off the market. According to Pro Football Talk, Zac Robinson accepted the offensive coordinator vacancy with the Atlanta Falcons and will be joining new head coach Raheem Morris.

Removing Robinson from the mix leaves, Texans quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson, former NFL head coach Kliff Kingsbury and former Panthers OC Thomas Brown are the known candidates still in the mix.

We really felt like the Steelers had an inside track on hiring Robinson given his history with quarterback Mason Rudolph. Now you have to wonder if this could be a domino falling in the Steelers ability to re-sign Rudolph. Rudolph and Robinson are good friends and Robinson coached and even lived with Rudholph when he was preparing for the NFL draft.

Hiring Robinson might have been motivation for Rudolph to re-sign but now Rudolph might look to sign with the Falcons who are in need of a starting quarterback.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Falcons hiring Rams QBs coach Zac Robinson as offensive coordinator

Raheem Morris and the Falcons are hiring Rams QBs coach Zac Robinson as their offensive coordinator

The Los Angeles Rams lost Raheem Morris to the Atlanta Falcons this week, and now he’s taking one of their coaches with him. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the Falcons are hiring Zac Robinson as their offensive coordinator.

Robinson was the Rams’ quarterbacks coach and pass game coordinator, playing a pivotal role on the coaching staff as someone who worked closely with Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford. It’s hardly surprising to see Morris bring Robinson to the Falcons after working with him for the last three years.

Robinson had been with the Rams since 2019, starting out as their assistant quarterbacks coach before being promoted in 2022.