Former Pitt QB Joins Los Angeles Rams Coaching Staff

Former Pitt quarterback Alex Van Pelt is headed across the country to continue his coaching career.

Van Pelt has joined the Los Angeles Rams as a senior offensive assistant, the Rams announced Monday on social media. He spent last season as the New England Patriots offensive coordinator but wasn’t retained by new head coach Mike Vrabel.

It’s the furthest west that Van Pelt has traveled for a job since he spent nearly a decade as an offensive assistant with the Green Bay Packers in the 2010s.

Van Pelt spent four seasons as Pitt’s starting quarterback from 1989-92, and he set Pitt’s career passing yardage record — a mark that had stood untouched until the conclusion of Kenny Pickett’s super-senior season this year.

He completed 845-of-1,463 pass attempts (57.8%) for 10,913 yards with 64 touchdowns and 59 interceptions — adding six more touchdowns on the ground. He’s second in career passing yards and fourth in career passing touchdowns in program history.

After his time at Pitt, Van Pelt spent nine seasons with the Buffalo Bills in the NFL before transitioning to coaching.

Van Pelt spent a handful of seasons with the Bills in a variety of positions, including offensive coordinator in 2009, before spending two seasons as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterbacks coach from 2010-11.

Upon leaving Tampa, Van Pelt’s long-tenured team became the Green Bay Packers. Van Pelt built a rapport with Aaron Rodgers, spending 2012-13 as the running backs coach and 2014-17 as the quarterbacks coach.

He spent two seasons as the Cincinnati Bengals quarterbacks coach from 2018-19 before taking over as the Browns offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 2020-23. He spent last season with the Patriots, working with a rookie quarterback and a generally subpar offensive unit.