The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are giving Baker Mayfield another young offensive coach to work with in 2026. After coaching 2025 Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza at Indiana, Chandler Whitmer is returning to the NFL on Todd Bowles’ staff.
Whitmer previously worked for offensive coordinator Zac Robinson as the Atlanta Falcons’ pass game specialist in 2024, when the former began his two-year stint with the team. He is now returning to work for Robinson by agreeing to become the Buccaneers’ next quarterbacks coach on Tuesday, NFL insider Tom Pelissero reported.
In addition to his duties as quarterbacks coach, Whitmer doubled as Indiana’s co-offensive coordinator in 2025. He joined Curt Cignetti in Bloomington during the 2025 offseason to replace Tino Sunseri, who accepted the vacant offensive coordinator position at UCLA.
In his lone season at Indiana, Whitmer helped develop Mendoza into the best quarterback in the country and the likely No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Mendoza ended the season with 3,535 passing yards, 41 touchdowns and six interceptions, while completing 72 percent of his pass attempts.
Whitmer returns to the NFL after one year in college at Indiana. Before working for the Falcons, he spent three years as an offensive quality control coach for Brandon Staley’s staff on the Los Angeles Chargers.
While Mayfield is onto his fourth different offensive coordinator in as many years with the Buccaneers, Whitmer will be just his second different quarterbacks coach. Despite frequent changes to the offensive coordinator position, Tampa Bay retained Thaddeus Lewis as its quarterbacks coach from 2023 to 2025.
Before Grizzard, Mayfield previously operated under Liam Coen and Dave Canales, who both went on to accept head coaching positions after one season in Tampa Bay. Lewis, who has been with the Buccaneers in various roles since 2020, is currently unemployed.
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