The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have welcomed former Atlanta Falcons man Zac Robinson for the offensive coordinator job, and while there is a mix of both optimism and concern in the air regarding the new hire, the reality is that nobody knows how Robinson will translate as the Bucs offensive coordinator in 2026.
People can speculate about scheme and X's and O's, and they can try to project how Robinson will translate to the Buccaneers. But as we all saw with predecessor Josh Grizzard and how quickly things fell apart in the second half of the 2025 NFL regular season, it is impossible to truly predict what will unfold for an offensive coordinator until you see it all actually happen.
Robinson will desperately want to avoid becoming the next Grizzard, who frustrated Bucs fans and likely the players themselves. And all the onus on Robinson is going to focus on how he gets along with and utilizes Baker Mayfield, who has just as many reasons to despite the Atlanta Falcons as Zac Robinson.
Baker Mayfield is a chaos agent
First and foremost, if Robinson wants to succeed with Mayfield at the helm as his signal caller, then he cannot make the same mistake Grizzard did. Grizzard committed the unforgivable sin of taking away Mayfield's best ability, which is his playmaking.
Mayfield excels when he tries to make something out of nothing and has the license to scramble, create chaos, and go for big plays. Grizzard slowly began to sabotage that part of Baker by the end of the regular season, turning him into a mediocre pocket passer who could not deliver the ball to his teammates - let alone make any plays with his legs.
Robinson has to unleash the full on crazy show that is Mayfield and allow the quarterback to embrace his ability to improvise. The new offensive coordinator needs to encourage Mayfield to be creative, take bold risks, and run to destabilize the defense.
The Bucs offense is going to be at its best when it is explosive and unpredictable, taking full advantage of the gamut of attacking weaponry at the wide receiver position. But the Buccaneers cannot successfully do that if the play calling is done to hamstring the main man under center.
How Mayfield and Robinson get along will determine how long Robinson stays in Tampa Bay, because if Mayfield likes a coach, that coach will flourish. If he does not, that coach will flounder.