The Chicago Bears have made their intentions pretty clear with most of their offensive coordinator interviews. They want to retain the Sean McVay/Kyle Shanahan system if possible. If that is the case, wouldn’t the best idea be to pluck directly from those staffs? It appears GM Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus reached that conclusion as their search continued. Albert Breer of the MMQB reported that they will interview Los Angeles Rams passing game coordinator Zac Robinson for the job.
He might be the biggest enigma of the bunch. Robinson was a former 7th round pick out of Oklahoma State, bouncing around the league as a backup quarterback. In that time, he learned under guys like Bill Belichick, Pete Carroll, and Marvin Lewis. After retiring, he spent years working as a lead analyst for Pro Football Focus. That apparently caught the attention of McVay, who brought him in as an assistant in 2019. Since then, Robinson has served as assistant quarterbacks coach, assistant wide receivers coach, and now passing game coordinator.
After a difficult 2022 season marred by injuries, the Rams rebounded in a big way this year. Matthew Stafford returned to form while rookie receiver Puke Nacua exploded for 1,486 yards and six touchdowns.
The Bears are wise to look into Zac Robinson.
Yes, it is apparent he has zero playcalling experience. That is a red flag for many. At the same time, McVay has an uncanny eye for coaching talent. It’s been proven countless times already. Matt Lafleur, Zac Taylor, Shane Waldron, Kevin O’Connell, and Liam Coen have all gone on to have considerable success as offensive playcallers elsewhere. It isn’t a crazy stretch to think the Rams head coach believes Robinson has the capacity to do the same. He’s spent five years learning that offensive system inside and out. As a former quarterback himself, he understands how to communicate with the position.
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It makes perfect sense that the Bears would at least speak with him. Just because Zac Robinson has never called plays doesn’t mean he can’t. Maybe he makes a strong impression, presenting a great plan for whichever quarterback he would work with. Or maybe the Bears hope to lure him to Chicago for a different position. There is no harm in asking. People forget McVay was a complete unknown at one point too. Sometimes you have to be willing to take the risk.
