Rob Calabrese enters his first season with the Los Angeles Rams as an offensive assistant.
He joined the Rams coaching staff after spending three seasons with the New York Jets as the quarterbacks coach from 2021-23.
Despite working through many quarterback changes during the 2023 season, Calabrese helped guide Zach Wilson to 2,482 yards of total offense. Wilson threw for 2,271 yards and eight touchdowns in 12 games played on the season.
In 2022, the Jets saw three different quarterbacks record at least two games of 300 or more passing yards and became the only team in the NFL to do so. Quarterback Mike White became only the fifth player in NFL history to record more than 350 passing yards in at least two of their first five career starts. Calabrese also helped Quarterback Joe Flacco become the first player with two passing touchdowns in the final two minutes of a fourth quarter
During his first season with the Jets in 2021, he mentored rookie quarterback Zach Wilson who improved steadily throughout the season. In the last seven games, Wilson ranked in the top half of the NFL starters (min. 100 attempts) in total touchdowns and in the top five in fewest turnovers. He ended the season without an interception in 156 passing attempts, the longest rookie streak in franchise history and longest streak by a Jets quarterback since 2000. Under Calabrese's leadership, three other quarterbacks saw action in 2021. White became the first quarterback in NFL history with 300+ passing yards and a 75+ completion percentage in his first career start. Additionally, Calabrese helped the transition of acquiring Flacco midseason and in his only game of action recorded a 100+ passer rating. Quarterback Josh Johnson saw action for the first time in three seasons and threw for 300+ yards, becoming just the fifth quarterback in the last 30 seasons to not start a game and still throw for 300+ yards.
Prior to the Jets, Calabrese spent two seasons with the Denver Broncos as their offensive quality control coach from 2019-20. He worked with multiple different quarterbacks as the Broncos were forced to use five different starters as a result of injuries. He made his NFL coaching debut with the Broncos in 2019 when Joe Flacco started the first eight games completing 65.3% of his passes, the best mark of his career at the time. Calabrese also helped rookie quarterback Drew Lock start the final five games of the season and compile a 4-1 record. The Broncos offense finished second in the NFL in fourth down conversion rate (68.8%) that season.
Before entering the NFL coaching ranks, Calabrese coached at the collegiate level. He spent time at Wagner College from 2016-18 and held various positions. He served as the running backs coach in 2016 and then became the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 2017-18. Under his leadership, the offense averaged 28 points per game in 2018, which was almost a seven-point per game improvement from the season prior and the school's best average in nine seasons.
Calabrese also spent two seasons as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Central Florida. He worked with the quarterbacks and wide receivers and was selected as one of 30 coaches for the NCAA-AFCA Future Football Coaches Academy
He began his coaching career at Oviedo High School in Florida mentoring the quarterbacks for a season in 2013.
Before Calabrese became a coach, he played quarterback and wide receiver at Central Florida, where he registered 1,276 passing yards and 12 touchdowns to go along with 494 rushing yards and two touchdowns. He also attended East Islip High School, where he broke school records for career passing yards and touchdowns.
He is a native of Islip Terrace, New York. Calabrese and his wife, Taylor, have two sons, Kayden and Cooper.
