Buccaneers hire former Falcons OC Zac Robinson as new offensive coordinator

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Baker Mayfield is reuniting with a familiar face in Tampa.

The Buccaneers are hiring Zac Robinson as their new offensive coordinator, with Mayfield making a significant push for Robinson’s hiring, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Thursday. Tampa Bay later announced Robinson’s hire.

“We are excited to welcome Zac Robinson as our next offensive coordinator,” coach Todd Bowles said in a statement. “Zac is one of the bright offensive minds in our game, and during the interview process, I was very impressed with his plan for getting the most out of the talent we have on that side of the ball. He has a very good understanding of the strengths of our top offensive players from his time in the division the past two years and I am very confident in his ability to teach and develop our young players.”

A former quarterback and coaching product of Sean McVay’s Los Angeles Rams, Robinson spent the last two seasons serving as offensive coordinator for the NFC South rival Atlanta Falcons, guiding them to a sixth-place finish in total yards per game and 13th-place ranking in points scored per game in his first year as Falcons play-caller. The unit took a step back in 2025, contributing to a challenging season for Atlanta that ended with the dismissal of head coach Raheem Morris and freed Robinson to seek employment elsewhere.

It didn’t take Robinson long to find his next opportunity. Robinson took just two interviews for vacant OC jobs — Detroit and Tampa Bay — and landed on the western shore of Florida, thanks in part to his connection to Mayfield.

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Way back in the 2022 season, Mayfield found himself in an unfamiliar place as a temporary football nomad searching for a home. He’d been traded from Cleveland to Carolina in the offseason, was released by the Panthers after appearing in seven games (six starts) and latched on with the Rams, a team mired in a Super Bowl hangover brought on by injuries, for the final five weeks of the season.

McVay’s Rams desperately needed a temporary but viable option under center and claimed Mayfield via waivers one day after Carolina parted with the former No. 1 overall pick, giving Mayfield less than 48 hours to travel to Los Angeles and learn McVay’s playbook in time to play in their Thursday night contest against the Las Vegas Raiders. Mayfield famously replaced John Wolford in that game and directed an electric two-minute drill to propel the Rams to a stunning win over the Raiders, then spent the remaining month as the Rams’ starting quarterback, receiving direction from both McVay and Robinson, who was serving as Los Angeles’ passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

Though Mayfield departed for Tampa Bay in 2023, it seems as if the brief time shared with Robinson sold the quarterback on the play-caller’s potential. After all, if Mayfield is going to be forced to play under yet another new offensive coordinator, he might as well do it with someone he knows.

Robinson, meanwhile, will aim to achieve the same success another former McVay lieutenant — current Jaguars coach Liam Coen — enjoyed during his own one-year stint with Mayfield in Tampa Bay.

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