We now know one name the Pittsburgh Steelers are interested in for their vacant offensive coordinator position. Per Albert Breer, the team has requested an interview with Los Angeles Rams pass-game coordinator Zac Robinson.
As Breer’s tweet notes, Robinson is a hot name for the OC market. The Las Vegas Raiders are also looking to interview him while he interviewed for the Chicago Bears and has a Tuesday meeting with the New England Patriots. The Bears filled their OC vacancy with Shane Waldron, a moved reported Monday morning.
Robinson has been with the Rams since 2019, serving as their assistant QBs coach before climbing the team’s ladder. In 2022, he worked as the team’s pass-game coordinator, the Rams bouncing back with a healthy QB Matthew Stafford and WR Cooper Kupp. In 2023, the Rams finished eighth in the NFL in scoring offense, averaging 23.8 points per game, and seventh in yards (359.3 per game). In five games, they reached at least 30 points. Stafford threw 24 for touchdowns, one short of the number of passing scores the Steelers have thrown in the past two years.
Robinson has ties to QB Mason Rudolph. Both went to Oklahoma State and Robinson helped train Rudolph during his Combine and pre-draft process. This 2018 article from The Oklahoman highlights their friendship, the two living together in California as Robinson trained him for the Combine. Robinson also put Rudolph through his Pro Day workout, which the Steelers attended.
“He was keeping tabs on me, making sure I was keeping in line,” Rudolph said at the time. “He’s a great dude and we’re good friends.”
At 37, Robinson is viewed as a bright football mind and riser around the league with ties to Sean McVay, whom Mike Tomlin respects for his offensive approach.
Though Tomlin outlined in his year-end presser that he was looking for someone with coordinator experience, Robinson has never called plays in the regular season before. However, McVay gave Robinson the chance to call plays during the preseason, giving him at least some experience in that role. According to Rams beat writer Jourdan Rodrigue, Robinson experimented calling plays from the booth and the sideline over the summer.
Robinson was a seventh-round pick of the New England Patriots in the 2010 draft. Though he never threw a pass in a regular-season game, he bounced around the league through 2014, spending time with the Seattle Seahawks, Detroit Lions, and Cincinnati Bengals. In college, Robinson put up good numbers in the Cowboys’ system, throwing for over 8,300 yards and 66 touchdowns, spending three full seasons as the team’s starter.
