Buccaneers new OC Zac Robinson opens up about reuniting with Baker Mayfield

Long before the Tampa Bay Buccaneers hired Zac Robinson as their new offensive coordinator, the former Atlanta Falcons OC served as Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield's passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach during Mayfield's cup-of-coffee stint with the Los Angeles Rams in the 2022 season. 

During his introductory Buccaneers news conference on Tuesday, Robinson spoke about reuniting with Mayfield.

Zac Robinson views Baker Mayfield as a "true igniter" of Buccaneers' offense

"You want that true igniter, you want that guy that elevates the rest of the group," Robinson said about Mayfield, per Kevin Patra of the NFL's website.  "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."

The Rams reportedly were the only team to claim Mayfield off waivers from the Carolina Panthers in early December 2022. Roughly two days later, Mayfield heroically guided the Rams on a remarkable 98-yard game-winning drive against the Las Vegas Raiders. 

It's since been said that Mayfield's time with Robinson and with Rams head coach Sean McVay helped save the signal-caller's career. 

"I'll never forget, [in 2022] we gave him a handful of plays," Robinson said about Mayfield's time with the Rams. "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.'"

Zac Robinson "fired up" to once again work with Baker Mayfield

Mayfield helped Tampa Bay claim division titles during the 2023 and 2024 seasons. More recently, he dealt with an injury to his non-throwing shoulder this past fall as the Buccaneers went from 6-2 to 8-9 en route to missing the playoffs.

Robinson now hopes to once again get the most out of Mayfield's abilities, this time for more than a handful of games. 

"Obviously, that time that we spent together was invaluable during a tough season [where] he came in and ignited that group," Robinson added. "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."