The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are getting close to filling out the rest of their coaching staff and turning their attention to free agency, and could make a big splash with one of the final hires.
“Indiana co-offensive coordinator Chandler Whitmer interviewed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the QBs coach job,” On3’s Pete Nakos wrote on his official X account. “Coached Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza this season. Former UConn QB has worked for Falcons and Chargers.”
The Buccaneers are getting a full makeover to their coaching staff on the offensive side of the ball after Josh Grizzard was fired after one season in which his team lost 7 of their last 9 games and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2019.
Tampa Bay hired former Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson to replace Grizzard.
Improbable Run to CFP National Championship
Whitmer and the Hoosiers just pulled off perhaps the most improbable season in college football history in 2025, going 16-0 on the way to winning the College Football Playoff National Championship. In one season with transfer quarterback Fernando Mendoza, Whitmer turned him into a Heisman Trophy winner and the projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft.
“Whitmer is a guy that has an absolutely impeccable resume and he’s worked with some great quarterbacks already,” Sports Illustrated’s Hondo Carpenter said. “It’s just a name you continue to hear, a name that continues to keep coming up in coaching circles.”
Whitmer, 34 years old, was a 3-year starting quarterback for UConn from 2012 to 2014. He started his coaching career with stints at Yale, Ohio State and Clemson, where he worked with a future No. 1 overall pick in Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
Whitmer already has NFL experience as the offensive quality control coach for the Los Angeles Chargers from 2021 to 2023 and coached with Robinson on the Falcons in 2024, when he was the pass game specialist.
In Whitmer’s 3 seasons with the Chargers, quarterback Justin Herbert became the first player in NFL history to throw for over 4,000 yards in each of his first 3 seasons.
Buccaneers Could Still Have Elite Offense
The Buccaneers might have one of the NFL’s elite offenses in 2026 if everyone can stay healthy — arguably the reason the season went off the rails in 2025.
When we look at who was missing for the Buccaneers in 2025, it might seem kind of incredible they even finished 8-9, and even though quarterback Baker Mayfield didn’t miss a start he seemed genuinely injured for most of the second half of the season.
The 3 starting wide receivers in 2024 missed a combined 30 games in 2025 with Chris Godwin (8 games), Mike Evans (9 games) and Jalen McMillan (13 games). In his follow up to rushing for over 1,200 yards as a rookie in 2024, running back Bucky Irving missed 7 games.
The offensive line was patchwork, at best, for almost the whole season. NFL All-Pro left offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs missed all of training camp with a knee injury and missed a career-high 5 game.
Right offensive tackle Luke Goedeke missed 6 games with a foot injury and right guard Cody Mauch missed 15 games after he suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 2.
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