Report: Steelers Lose Sweepstakes for Top OC Candidate to Falcons
The Pittsburgh Steelers were one of at least six teams looking to hire Los Angeles Rams quarterbacks coach Zach Robinson as their offensive coordinator this offseason.
The Steelers couldn’t get a tie. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported on January 27 that the Atlanta Falcons would add Robinson as offensive coordinator under new head coach Raheem Morris.
“Source: Falcons hire Rams defensive coordinator Zach Robinson as new OC for Raheem Morris,” Rapoport tweeted. “One of the most popular interviews on the OC circuit was Robinson Morris’ first choice.”
In addition to the Steelers, Rapoport reported on Jan. 26 that Robinson had received interview requests from the New Orleans Saints, New England Patriots, Las Vegas Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
But in Atlanta, Robinson will work under Morris. The two coaches spent three seasons together and won a Super Bowl with the Rams.
Atlanta Falcons hire Zach Robinson as offensive coordinator
Outside of the head coaching vacancy, Robinson has been the hottest name in this year’s coaching cycle. He could join any team. Ultimately, he preferred to work under famous directors. This will be Robinson’s first NFL coaching job outside of the Rams. He began his NFL coaching career as an assistant with the Rams in 2019. Robinson became the assistant receivers coach in 2020 and returned to his role as assistant quarterbacks coach in 2021.
For the past two seasons, Robinson has served as Los Angeles’ passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Morris and Robinson are committed to the Rams for 2021-23. During that time, Morris was the defensive coordinator of Los Angeles. The Rams won the Super Bowl in the 2021-2022 season.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin told the media during the January 18 postseason press conference that he was selecting a candidate with prior coaching experience, but Steelers insiders considered Robinson a strong candidate for the offensive coordinator role in Pittsburgh. Through the first two weeks of the season, Robinson was one of three candidates the Steelers had to interview for the offensive coordinator opening.
The Steelers have two more offensive coordinator candidates.
With Robinson unavailable, the Steelers were left with two offensive coordinator candidates: Thomas Brown and Jerrod Johnson. Brown fills Tomlin’s need for offensive coordinator experience. Last season he was the offensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers. Interestingly, Brown coached alongside Robinson with the Rams from 2020 to 2022. Brown served as Los Angeles’ quarterbacks coach from 2020 to 2021. In 2022, he coached the Rams.
Like Robinson, Johnson has never been an offensive coordinator, but he is one of the hottest names who will get a chance as a coordinator and player next season. In 2023, Johnson spent his first season as quarterbacks coach for the Houston Texans.
Johnson served as the offensive line coach for the Indianapolis Colts from 2020 to 2021. In 2022, he was also an assistant coach for the Minnesota Vikings.
Brown and Johnson are the two names left on Pittsburgh’s short list of offensive coordinators, but there are plenty of other potential candidates. NFL insiders have linked the Steelers to several coaching prospects, including the San Francisco 49ers, who inherited passing game coordinator Clint Kubiak.
Former NFL head coaches Kliff Kingsbury and Arthur Smith have been floated in the media as possible candidates. Dave Holcomb is a sports reporter covering the Pittsburgh Steelers and Detroit Lions for Heavy.com. A native of Pittsburgh, Holcomb has covered college and professional sports for Fanised, Rotowire and Yardbarker. More about Dave Holcomb
