Is Sean McVay's coaching tree adding another branch with Falcons OC Zac Robinson?
After getting his start with the Rams in 2019 as an assistant quarterbacks coach under Sean McVay, current Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson got quite the praise from McVay when asked about what stood out about his former passing game coordinator.
“Just steady,” McVay said about the former member of his coaching staff. “I think he had a really steady, calm demeanor … He's always had such a good feel. We gave him a lot of responsibility, but he always looked at it where guys have certain roles and responsibilities, but they also want to prepare themselves for whenever that next opportunity arises. I would say the steadiness, just the calm demeanor. I think that rubs off on those guys and they've played really well offensively. I think he's done an awesome job.”
In his first season as an offensive coordinator, Robinson has done a complete 180 with the Falcons' offense.
Last season, Atlanta scored an average of 18.9 points per game, ranking as the seventh-lowest-scoring offense in the NFL. Now, under Robinson, the Falcons are scoring an average of 23.8 points per game, ranking as the 14th-highest-scoring offense in the league.
Diving even deeper into this, as a former quarterback in the NFL, Robinson has improved the Falcons' passing offense nearly 10-fold.
Before the Falcons hired Robinson, Atlanta had an average of 207.3 passing yards per game, which was the 11th fewest in the league. Now, under the former quarterback, the Falcons are passing for 250.4 yards per game, ranking fifth in the league.
Robinson was likely capable of being a strong coach whether he was with McVay or not, but it appears as though the McVay coaching tree has grown another successful branch.
Sean McVay's coaching tree improves with Zac Robinson success
Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Before Robinson's success this season, McVay's coaching tree of former assistant coaches who have turned out to be successful coaches on their own is impressive.
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McVay's had Matt LaFleur, Zac Taylor, Brandon Staley, Kevin O'Connell, and Raheem Morris as notable assistants who went on to be successful on their own.
Now, Taylor and Staley might not be the greatest examples— especially with Staley no longer having a head coaching job— but Robinson might just be the next McVay assistant to go big time.
It's no surprise that being a head coach in the NFL is a tough job, but for teams looking to bring in a new coach, looking at former McVay assistants appears to be the cheat code for obtaining a quality coach.
And with how well Robinson's done in Atlanta under Morris— another former McVay assistant— it looks like McVay's coaching tree is continuously expanding.
