Zac Robinson made the less-than-500-mile trip from Atlanta to Tampa Bay for the chance to coach Baker Mayfield.
Robinson, the former Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator, was introduced as Todd Bowles' new OC this week. Mayfield was part of the pull to Florida after the QB and coach had a brief stint together with the Los Angeles Rams in 2022. Famously, Mayfield played the bulk of a contest just two days after joining the club following Matthew Stafford's injury.
Robinson said that experience with Mayfield told him a lot more about the QB than what the average fan sees on Sundays.
"Sure, it's a big deal," Robinson said Tuesday of Mayfield being a reason he joined Tampa, via the team's official transcript. "I'll never forget, [in 2022] we gave him a handful of plays. It was a short week, Thursday night game, so we gave him kind of a menu of plays, and Baker could probably tell you about 20-25 plays. It was like at 10 o'clock at night and he came in the next day, and I saw his notebook -- we had a bathroom break, [so] I saw his notebook -- he had highlighters everywhere, color coded. Right away, I was like, 'Okay, I know the player, I know the talent, but he's made of all the right stuff.'
"Obviously, that time that we spent together was invaluable during a tough season [where] he came in and ignited that group. I'm fired up to work with Bake and the rest of the guys. It's a good group of dudes, and I'm looking forward to it, for sure."
Mayfield used that experience as a launching point to change the course of his career, landing in Tampa in the post-Tom Brady era, and kept the Bucs afloat, including winning back-to-back NFC South titles in his first two seasons.
"You want that true igniter, you want that guy that elevates the rest of the group," Robinson said of Mayfield. "When you have a guy like that, you have a chance to win every single Sunday. The impact that he has, obviously, just as a leader…You can speak to the talent and the type of player he is, and all those things, but those guys that give you a chance every single Sunday -- and the guys in that locker room know it -- it's a big deal."
Robinson parlayed two seasons as the Rams' passing game coordinator and QB coach into an OC job under Raheem Morris in Atlanta. With quarterback issues leading to inconsistencies in ATL, Robinson's offense was mostly middling. At times, they flashed explosive elements but often didn't play up to their talent level. So long as Mayfield remains healthy, the Bucs' new OC won't have the same sort of QB quandaries.
"Baker was the No. 1 pick in the draft for a reason," Robinson said of his new QB. "In terms of the arm, there's not a part of the field that he can't attack. You start there and then you get to the instincts and the feel for the game. You mentioned it, the movement part is huge. You have to be able to move at this day and age in the NFL as you guys know. His ability to throw on the run -- he's probably the best in the league at throwing on the run. He's great in the keeper game, great in the boot[leg] game. [I am] looking to evolve that part and making sure that we're playing to Baker's strengths and the rest of the guys' strengths. That's a huge part. The third-down conversions, those are tough downs, and when you have a quarterback that can obviously extend those plays and pick up first downs with his legs, that's huge."
Robinson is the Bucs fifth OC in the past five years -- Byron Leftwich (2019-2022), Dave Canales (2023), Liam Coen (2024), Josh Grizzard (2025).
