Jaguars head coach and former Bucs offensive coordinator Liam Coen is a big fan of Tampa Bay’s new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson and thinks he and Baker Mayfield are destined to have a big season together in 2026.

Coen became best friends with Robinson when the two worked together in Los Angeles under Sean McVay on the Rams coaching staff from 2019-2020 and again in 2022. During that 2022 season, Coen, who was the Rams offensive coordinator, and Robinson, who was L.A.’s quarterbacks coach, worked with Mayfield for the final five weeks after he was claimed off waivers.

Pewter Report asked Coen about how he thinks Robinson will fare as Tampa Bay’s new play-caller, as he replaces Josh Grizzard, who was fired one season after replacing Coen in that role. Coen said he just trounced Robinson in a round of golf in Jacksonville last weekend.

Bucs OC Zac Robinson and Rams QB Matt Stafford – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Kirby Lee

“Zac is obviously a former quarterback [at Oklahoma State],” Coen said. “He gets it. He’s stood back there. He’s been in competitive situations. He helps immediately with the communication with the quarterback but other position groups. He’s aggressive. He wants to put points up on the board and he’ll do whatever it takes, whether it’s running or throwing. He’s going to lean into what works and what you’re good at.”

Coen, a former college quarterback himself at UMass, might be on to something about Robinson’s fit in Tampa Bay. Grizzard, who is now the Eagles pass game coordinator since being fired from the Bucs, played safety at Yale and didn’t have an offensive background outside of being a wide receivers coach and a pass game coordinator at the NFL level.

Now Mayfield will once again team up with a former quarterback in Robinson, who also came from the same McVay system that Coen did when arrived in Tampa Bay as the offensive coordinator for a record-setting 2024 season. The Bucs had a top 5 scoring offense and running game under Coen while Mayfield had a career year with 4,500 passing yards, 41 touchdowns and a franchise-record 71.4% completion percentage.

Bucs OC Zac Robinson and Falcons QB Kirk Cousins – IMAGN Images – Mark J. Rebilas

Robinson spent two seasons in Atlanta working with the likes of running back Bijan Robinson, wide receiver Drake London and tight end Kyle Pitts, while navigating a transition from aging veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins to Michael Penix Jr., the Falcons’ first-round pick in 2024. Coen knows Tampa Bay’s offensive personnel intimately and believes that Robinson will thrive with the Bucs’ weapons at his disposal – even if Mike Evans has departed for San Francisco via free agency.

“I think the way he’s used some of the wideouts in Atlanta, and you look at two years with [Darnell] Mooney and Drake London and what they were able to do, I know he knows how to get wideouts open,” Coen said. “There is no question in my mind that they are going to have real, efficient attacks in their game-planning specific to the pass game and the run game.

“Obviously, I think he had low key some of the best screens in the NFL to both Bijan [Robinson] and the tight ends, getting some of your playmakers the ball. Look that wideout room is pretty talented in Tampa. I think the running back room is talented. The O-line is damn good and you re-signed Cade Otton. I think Zac has definitely a plethora of weapons to go work with.”

Liam Coen Believes Baker Mayfield, Bucs Will Have A Bounce-Back Year

Liam Coen can become quite emotional at times on the sidelines. But he said that Zac Robinson’s even-keeled demeanor should benefit Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield, who can also be a little hot-headed himself.

“His personality is very calm, cool, collected,” Coen said of Robinson. “Maybe a little different [from me]. I’m Northeast, he’s Colorado, Denver, Oklahoma. So there’s a little bit of that chilled-out version. I might be a little bit more type A.”

Mayfield’s numbers dipped last year in Tampa Bay under first-year play-caller Josh Grizzard. He finished the season with 3,693 passing yards and 26 touchdowns last year – about 800 fewer yards and 15 fewer touchdowns than Mayfield produced with Coen in 2024. Mayfield also saw his completion percentage drop from 71.4% in 2024 to 63.2% last year.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield and OC Liam Coen – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Coen believes that Mayfield playing in Robinson’s system, which is more akin to the one he thrived in during 2024, will only help the veteran quarterback as he enters a big contract year in Tampa Bay. Coen is expecting a big, bounce-back year from Mayfield and the Bucs, who finished 8-9 last year, with Robinson helping to lead the way in 2026.

“I am,” Coen said. “I am. Obviously their connection – they have a prior relationship [from the Rams in 2022] and again, that definitely helps with Baker. He’s going to probably be teed off – a little ticked off to have a better season, get back to the playoffs and do some of those things. Because that’s what he cares about – winning. That’s all that he gives a crap about. I’ve got to believe that those guys will get back to that.”