What You Need to Know About Buccaneers' New Assistant Coaches

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers didn't change their head coach this offseason, retaining Todd Bowles in a year where 10 other teams moved on from their own head coaches. They made some major staff shakeups, though, letting five assistants go and seeing two others retire.

Two of those positions were filled early when the Bucs brought on offensive coordinator Zac Robinson and special teams coordinator Danny Smith to the fold, but Tampa Bay isn't done — there are still plenty of spots to be filled, and the Bucs are slowly filling them as the offseason continues.

Tampa Bay brought on two new assistants on Thursday, with one on offense and one on defense. Here's what you need to know about Tampa Bay's two new hires:

Zac Robinson Builds Offensive Staff

Offensive Coordinator Zac Robinson of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during his introductory press conference at AdventHealth Training Center. | Tori Richman/Tampa Bay Buccaneers/Tampa Bay Buccaneers

First, the Buccaneers brought on one of Zac Robinson's old teammates in Andrew Mitchell, per ESPN's Pete Thamel. Mitchell played with Robinson at Oklahoma State and served as their offensive line coach in 2025. He's set to come on as an assistant offensive line coach, replacing former Bucs assistant Brian Picucci. Mitchell has been a coach at the college level since 2013 and has coached seven different teams there, but he joins Robinson for his first NFL gig.

Source: Former Oklahoma State OL Coach Andrew Mitchell is set to be hired by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the new Assistant OL Coach. He and Bucs OC Zac Robinson were teammates at Oklahoma State. pic.twitter.com/FHg9ndShbl
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 29, 2026

Additionally, Robinson is expected to bring coaches T.J. Yates and Ken Zampese from Atlanta. It's unknown exactly what role they are set to play in Tampa Bay's offensive staff, but Yates served as passing game coordinator and Zampese was a senior offensive assistant, and per FOX Sports' Greg Auman, they could arrive in Tampa Bay with those same roles.

Bucs are still sorting through Zac Robinson’s offensive staff, but T.J. Yates and Ken Zampese, following him from Atlanta, could end up with the same titles of passing game coordinator and senior offensive assistant in Tampa. To be determined.
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) January 29, 2026

Yates was an NFL quarterback from 2011-17 with four different teams as a backup quarterback. He's been coaching since 2019, working with the Houston Texans as an offensive assistant and assistant quarterbacks coach from 2019-20 and then with the Falcons from 2021-25 in a number of assistant roles.

Zampese, meanwhile, has a long and storied career as a football coach. He began his career in coaching in 1990 as a graduate assistant at USC and has coached ever since, with numerous tenures in the NFL. He's never called offensive plays at the NFL level, but he's served as an offensive assistant coach in many different roles for seven NFL teams over the course of his coaching career. Zampese brings years of coaching experience to the staff, which could continue to prove valuable for Robinson.

Todd Bowles Brings On Bills Coach to Defense

Bills edge Von Miller races out after defensive line coach Marcus West during line drills. | Shawn Dowd/Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK

Meanwhile, Bowles made his first hire on the defensive side of the ball. He's brought on former Buffalo Bills defensive line coach Marcus West, per the Tampa Bay Times' Rick Stroud.

Bucs have hired former Bills DL coach Marcus West.
— Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) January 29, 2026

West spent one year in the NFL and two in the CFL before beginning his coaching career in 2008. He had four different stops before becoming an assistant head coach, co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach at Charlotte from 2019-21. He coached Buccaneers edge rusher Markees Watts there before Sean McDermott hired him to be an assistant defensive line coach for the Bills in 2022. In 2024, he was promoted to defensive line coach, and now, he comes to Tampa Bay after McDermott's firing.

There will certainly be more hires from Bowles to fill more empty positions like safeties coach, defensive backs coach and more. But for now, the Bucs have made their initial hires as the NFL Combine and free agency approach.

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