Buccaneers to Hire Ex-Falcons’ OC Zac Robinson as Offensive Coordinator

Robinson, set to be hired as the Buccaneers offensive coordinator, is reuniting with Baker Mayfield in Tampa Bay.

Robinson is headed to Tampa Bay. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The Buccaneers have found a new play-caller.

Tampa Bay is set to hire former Falcons play-caller Zac Robinson as its new offensive coordinator, sources told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. Robinson reunites with Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield, whom he coached briefly during the 2022 season when he was a member of the Rams coaching staff under Sean McVay.

Rapoport adds that Robinson is expected to bring along senior offensive assistant Ken Zampese and passing game coordinator TJ Yates to Tampa Bay. As part of a staff overhaul, the Buccaneers on Jan. 8 fired offensive coordinator John Grizzard after a season that saw Tampa Bay regress from the fourth-best scoring offense in 2024 to the 18th-best in 2025 and went from ranking third in total offense two years ago to 21st this past year.

Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer reports that the Buccaneers' search for a new offensive coordinator came down to former Titans head coach Brian Callahan and ex-Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel, who recently accepted a job as the Chargers' new play-caller. And so Robinson, after a second interview with Tampa Bay on Wednesday, accepted the position with the Buccaneers.

Before joining the Falcons, Robinson spent the previous five years with the Rams, first working as an assistant quarterbacks and wide receivers coach in 2019 before he was promoted to quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator in 2022.

Mayfield was a 'breath of fresh air' for Robinson and the Rams during brief 2022 stint

Mayfield, after being released by the Panthers in December of 2022, landed with the Rams, who were dealing with a bevy of injuries in the midst of a disappointing, 5-12 season. After looking at the Rams' playbook on the plane, Mayfield suited up for the Rams in his first game, a Thursday Night Football clash against the Raiders that saw the QB improbably lead Los Angeles on a game-winning drive with under two minutes to go, effectively resurrecting his career in the process.

Robinson, for an ESPN piece in November of 2025, called Mayfield a “breath of fresh air” for the Rams that season.

“We were struggling that season obviously with multiple injuries along the line and it just kind of kept going one after another," Robinson told ESPN. "And so it was kind of a breath of fresh air.”

Mayfield also spoke openly about how transformational his time with the Rams was.

“It was life-changing," Mayfield said. "It was the biggest weight lifted off my shoulders that I had ever felt. I could physically feel it, which is hard to imagine, but I did.”

Now Mayfield, who has turned himself into a two-time Pro Bowl selection and one of the best passers in the NFL with the Buccaneers, will work alongside one of the coaches from that life-changing experience.

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