Kirk Cousins old ties already coming in handy with the Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons have a new starting quarterback in 12-year veteran Kirk Cousins. The Falcons have a new offensive coordinator in Zac Robinson. He spent the previous five seasons as a member of Sean McVay’s staff with the Los Angeles Rams, the last two as the club’s quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator.
Robinson, who played quarterback at Oklahoma State and was a seventh-round draft choice of the New England Patriots in 2010, will be serving as an NFL offensive coordinator for the first time. It’s safe to assume he picked up a few things working under McVay for five seasons while serving various roles on the offensive side of the ball.
Cousins knows something about spending five years with McVay. The former Michigan State Spartan was a fourth-round draft choice by Washington in 2012. At that time, McVay was Washington’s tight ends coach. In 2014, he was promoted to offensive coordinator.
In 2015, Cousins became the team’s full-time starting quarterback. From 2015-16, he didn’t miss a game and in those 32 contests, he hit on a combined 68.3 percent of his passes for an impressive 9,083 yards, and more than twice as many touchdown passes (54) as interceptions (23).
Of course, Cousins spent the past two seasons under Kevin O'Connell, another McVay disciple.
Kirk Cousins’ transition to the Falcons should be smooth
What does it all mean as Robinson and Cousins work together for the first time?
“This is my first time doing (this),” explained Robinson. “So having the comfort of a veteran quarterback like Kirk that’s coming from this type of system, (I) couldn’t ask for anything better.”
The Falcons have loaded up on the offensive side of the ball. A team that boasted running back Bijan Robinson, wide receiver Drake London and tight end Kyle Pitts added wideouts Rondale Moore and Darnell Mooney via trade and free agency, respectively. Of course, Cousins is the most celebrated newcomers and he’s looking forward to seeing what his newest offensive coordinator is capable of.
“I think Zac has a great football mind. I think he’s a hard worker, and I think he’s got a great way about him. The guys respond to him. We’re checking a lot of boxes from that standpoint. It’s about us. As players, we keep saying the same thing that we’ve got to put the work in to build that shared history so that we can play in such a way this fall that it looks like we’ve been together for five years," Cousins said.
The Falcons have not finished with a winning record since 2017. Their offensive unit produced just 31 touchdowns this past season. You get the sense both of those facts are getting ready to change in 2024.