Buccaneers Interview Indiana Football Staffer Who Coached Fernando Mendoza

Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza won the Heisman Trophy in 2025 and led a decisive College Football Playoff campaign that ended in a National Championship win. He's set to be the first overall pick in the NFL Draft and play for the Las Vegas Raiders, but he might also have helped get his quarterbacks coach at Indiana back to the NFL — and it could be with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Hoosiers QBs coach Chandler Whitaker helped Mendoza develop into the phenom he was in 2025, and the Bucs might be looking to harness some of that Mendoza magic for their own quarterback in Baker Mayfield. NFL Network insider Cameron Wolfe reported on Friday that Whitmer interviewed with the Buccaneers for their vacant quarterbacks coach position, and if he were to get the job, he'd find some familiar faces in Tampa Bay.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers interviewed Indiana co-offensive coordinator Chandler Whitmer for their QB coach, per sources. pic.twitter.com/YDoAnCKZ6d
— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) January 29, 2026

Buccaneers interview Indiana Hoosiers QBs coach Chandler Whitmer

Indiana's Fernando Mendoza (15) speaks with quarterback coach Chandler Whitmer | Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Whitmer, who also serves as co-offensive coordinator in Indiana, helped Mendoza and the Hoosiers win a national title this year. This was his first year on staff at Indiana, though, because before 2025, he served as Zac Robinson's passing game coordinator with the Atlanta Falcons.

Robinson, now the offensive coordinator for the Buccaneers, had Whitmer at his side for his first year as an OC in the league. If he were to bring Whitmer back, he'd replace the job Thad Lewis has held for the last few years and step in to help coach Mayfield, who was an MVP candidate to start the year and massively struggled at the end of the year.

Whitmer is a very fast riser, serving as a graduate assistant at Ohio State and Clemson in 2019 and 2020 before joining the Los Angeles Chargers as an offensive quality control coach. He had that role from 2021-23 before joining up with the Falcons in 2024 and then heading to Bloomington to coach at Indiana in 2025. A national championship has done wonders for his stock, and he could be getting another NFL job sooner than later with the Buccaneers.

Quarterbacks coach is obviously an important position, so the Bucs will do their due diligence. But after the year Mendoza has had at the college level with a first-overall selection looming, it would be hard to deny how impressive Whitmer's resume is.

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