History should concern the Falcons and new OC Zac Robinson

One of our biggest questions about the Atlanta Falcons in 2024 is how fast the offensive will mesh.

We all saw how it can take a season for a new offensive coordinator to get fully comfortable back in 2015 when Kyle Shanahan's offense was not good. However, his unit followed it up by having one of the best offenses in NFL history in 2016.

Atlanta is hoping the offensive wheels will roll in week one. With all the skill they have, they expect to put up 30-plus points against the Steelers at home.

For now, all we can do is look at recent history to see how Sean McVay's pupils have fared in week one.

How Sean McVay's offensive coaches have performed in first season after promotion

Recently, there have been eight coaches under Sean McVay who have been promoted to either offensive coordinator or as an offensive-minded head coach. We are going back to 2018 when the Raiders hired their offensive coordinator.

• Raiders OC Greg Olson, 2018
• Packers HC Matt LaFleur, 2019
• Bengals HC Zac Taylor, 2019
• Seahawks OC Shane Waldron, 2021
• Vikings HC Kevin O'Connell, 2022
• Vikings OC Wes Phillips, 2022
• Panthers OC Thomas Brown, 2023

Looking at that list, three coaches are no longer with the same teams: Greg Olson, Shane Waldron, and Thomas Brown. With so much turnover in this league, having four of the seven coaches still in the same role is not a terrible rate.

Nevertheless, let's look at each of their offensive rankings in their first season with their new team (Points per game, yards per game, pass yards per game, and rush yards per game). We will be combining Kevin O'Connell and Wes Phillips.

You look at that chart and you can't find much optimism. There is no doubt about it, teams hiring offensive coaches away from Sean McVay have not had much success.

However, there is context that needs to be added here. You can reasonably say that the Falcons current offensive lineup is better than any of those teams. They had starting quarterbacks like Andy Dalton, Derek Carr, and Bryce Young. Most of those teams didn't have a trio of offensive threats.

The 2022 Vikings have the most similarities to the Falcons. Their quarterback was Kirk Cousins who had a 1,000-yard rusher in Dalvin Cook and a 1,800-yard receiver in Justin Jefferson.

Not to mention, Kevin O'Connell first exposure to the league was as a quarterback and then he spent time as a quarterbacks/passing game coordinator—exactly like Zac Robinson.

As I mentioned with the Falcons' offensive talent, Robinson is in the best position to succeed. He will focus on being an offensive coordinator of a team that features significant talent across the board. We will get a glimpse early as they will be battling a tough Steelers defense in week one.