When the Bucs hired Danny Smith to replace Thomas McGaughey as their special teams coordinator, the next big item on the offseason to-do list was to finish up another search by finding a new offensive coordinator to replace Josh Grizzard.

Late Wednesday night, the team checked that box as well, with news coming out Thursday morning that it would be former Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson stepping in to replace Grizzard and work with Baker Mayfield and Co. to get the offense back on track.

So, that’s two big items from the offseason checklist done. What’s next for the Bucs? Let’s take a look.

Bucs Now Need To Fill Vacant Assistant Positions

The Bucs have filled their two biggest vacancies with the hirings of Danny Smith and Zac Robinson, but there are still several spots on the coaching staff that still need to be filled in the coming days and weeks.

On the offensive side of the ball, Robinson needs to fill out the rest of his staff. There’s already been some reported movement (or reported movement to come) on that front, as NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Thursday morning that former Falcons senior offensive assistant Ken Zampese and former Falcons passing game coordinator TJ Yates – who were both with Robinson in Atlanta – are expected to come to Tampa Bay as well. What roles Zampese and Yates will fill with the Bucs remains to be seen.

With the retirement of the legendary Tom Moore, Zampese presumably could keep his senior offensive assistant title. If Yates keeps his passing game coordinator title, that will likely mean the end of the line in Tampa for Kefense Hynson, who served in that role last year under Josh Grizzard. However, with the firing of quarterbacks coach Thad Lewis, there’s a chance that Yates could be the quarterbacks coach for the Bucs in 2026. That’s something Robinson will have to ponder as he finalizes his staff.

Elsewhere on the offense, offensive line coach and run game coordinator Kevin Carberry is “definitely” being retained, Fox Sports’ Greg Auman reported Thursday. Carberry worked with Robinson in Los Angeles under Sean McVay, and the former has done a fantastic job since being coming to Tampa along with Liam Coen two seasons ago.

Bucs OL coach Kevin Carberry – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Running backs coach Skip Peete overlapped with Robinson in Los Angeles as well, so he could certainly stay on. Wide receivers coach Bryan McClendon has done a good job with the Buccaneer receivers in recent years, so there’s no reason why he wouldn’t be a candidate to stay on. Of course, Robinson will likely weigh his options with each coaching position once he gets his feet underneath him in the coming days.

Where there’s probably more mystery from an assistant coaching standpoint is on the defensive side of the ball. Head coach Todd Bowles fired cornerbacks coach Kevin Ross and defensive line coach Charlie Strong earlier this month, while safeties coach Nick Rapone opted to retire as opposed to getting the boot himself.

Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds wrote in his Jan. 16 edition of SR’s Fab 5 that Bowles could look to promote from within in the secondary, as assistant defensive backs coaches Tim Atkins and Rashad Johnson are both candidates to fill in for Rapone and Ross, respectively. Atkins has been a longtime Bowles assistant, while Johnson is younger at 40 years old and his highly thought of within One Buccaneer Place.

As for the defensive line coach position, that’s perhaps a bigger question. Bowles went with Strong last offseason, but after just one season, he’s gone and now needs replacing. Who might step in? That’s one of the many coaching-related questions Tampa Bay will have to answer in the coming weeks.

Bucs’ Upcoming Steps With Pre-Draft Process

While the Bucs are figuring out the rest of their coaching staff, they’ll also continue to dive head first into the pre-draft process, something their scouts have obviously been doing for weeks and months. But it all really kicks into high gear in the coming weeks, as the East-West Shrine Bowl is set to take place in Frisco, Texas just prior to Senior Bowl Week in Mobile, Alabama.

Bucs WR Tez Johnson – Photo by: USA Today

Shrine Bowl practices are underway this weekend before the game itself is played on Tuesday, Jan. 27. Meanwhile, Senior Bowl practices take place on the campus of the University of South Alabama starting Tuesday, Jan. 27 and running through Wednesday, Jan. 28 and Thursday, Jan. 29. The Senior Bowl game is set for Saturday, Jan. 31.

The next big event in the pre-draft process is the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana. That begins Monday, Feb. 23 and runs through Monday, March 2.

Pre-draft workouts and top 30 visits will follow, and the 2026 NFL Draft itself is set for Thursday, April 23 through Saturday, April 25 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Where The Bucs Need To Improve Via Free Agency, 2026 Draft

While it’s full speed ahead toward the 2026 Draft, the new league year and free agency period arrive soon after the NFL Combine ends. The legal tampering period begins Monday, March 9 and the 2026 league year and the official start of free agency comes two days later on Wednesday, March 11.

So, while Tampa Bay’s decision-makers will be preparing to fill some of their needs through the draft at the end of April, they’ll also have to weigh the options available to them in free agency. How they’ll do so is bound to be a prevalent topic of conversation in the coming months given the number of needs this team has, especially on defense.

Bucs GM Jason Licht – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The Bucs are in dire need of help at inside linebacker and outside linebacker, plus they’ll need a cornerback or two, some depth up front on the defensive line and depth at safety. That’s just on the defensive side of the football. They’ll also need to rework their running back room and could use improved depth along the offensive line and behind quarterback Baker Mayfield.

So, how Tampa Bay chooses to go about filling all of those needs between free agency and the draft is going to be something that we’ll watch play out in the coming months. Because free agency comes first, we’ll have a clearer picture of the team’s possible draft needs and plans by mid-March. So, what might free agency look like?

The Bucs are projected to have around $43 million in cap space as of right now, though they have plenty of avenues to create more cap space if they want to via restructures. Given who is on their list of 16 unrestricted free agents and how few of them are expected to be re-signed, this could be Tampa Bay’s first offseason in a while where a lot of the additions in free agency come externally. That’ll be fascinating to watch unfold.

What Other Looming Decisions Do The Bucs Face?

In some respects, the Bucs are facing some personnel decisions themselves, and in other ways, they’re simply playing the waiting game for some decisions that others have to make about their futures. Let’s actually start there.

First, the team will certainly be waiting on a decision from Lavonte David about his future. It feels highly likely that he’ll retire after 14 legendary seasons in a Tampa Bay uniform, at which point general manager Jason Licht, head coach Todd Bowles and the rest of the Bucs’ brass will be able to move on and begin to plan for life after No. 54.

But what if David decides he wants to play one more year? His play began to fall off more dramatically in 2025 than it had in the seasons preceding that, and it’s best for the Bucs at this point to move on and get younger and faster at the inside linebacker position in 2026.

But do Licht, Bowles and Co. have it in them to move on from the longtime captain and future Bucs Ring of Honor member if he does want to return for Year 15? It’s a situation made much easier on them if David does opt to retire, but one way or the other, that’s one decision the team will be waiting on in the coming weeks.

Bucs ILB Lavonte David and WR Mike Evans – Photo by: USA Today

Along those same lines, what about future Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver Mike Evans? David turned 36 on Friday, and Evans doesn’t turn 33 until August. But there’s no rule that says the legendary receiver can’t hang up his cleats after 12 seasons, right?

So, while it feels unlikely that he’s going to retire and go out on his first-ever season without 1,000 receiving yards, the Bucs will surely be waiting to hear about his future as well, especially considering he is set to become a free agent.

Assuming Evans does want to play a 13th season in 2026, it would be a catastrophic surprise if he didn’t play it in red and pewter. So, once that decision is communicated to Buccaneer leadership (if it hasn’t been already), perhaps negotiations start on a new deal and this doesn’t turn into the type of saga that it was ahead of the start of the free agency period in 2024.

Another looming decision for the Bucs, albeit one that seems like a foregone conclusion, is whether to pick up Calijah Kancey’s fifth-year option. The team has until May 1 to do so, and it seems likely they will.

Other decisions to be made include those regarding three restricted free agents in defensive back Christian Izien, running back Sean Tucker and outside linebacker Markees Watts. The Bucs also have long snapper Evan Deckers as an exclusive rights free agent, and they also have a club option for 2026 on the contract for punter Riley Dixon.