After working their way through nine interviews for their vacant offensive coordinator position, the Bucs settled on Zac Robinson, the former Falcons coordinator whose roots are in Sean McVay’s system out in Los Angeles with the Rams.

So, when Robinson had his introductory press conference at One Buc Place on Tuesday afternoon, it was always going to be interesting to listen to him break down his offensive philosophy and what his vision is for Tampa Bay.

Would Robinson’s offensive system be rigid? Can he capable of adapting to the players he has? Will the offense look more like the one Liam Coen, another McVay disciple, ran with a whole lot of success in 2024 rather than the one the Bucs ran last year under Josh Grizzard?

Bucs OC Zac Robinson – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Kirby Lee

Robinson first chose to define his preferred style of play, while throwing in glimpses of what he has in mind for the Buccaneer offense in 2026.

“We all have a foundational belief in what we want to do scheme wise. Now, offense is ever-evolving,” Robinson said. “You’re adapting to your players, you’re adapting to your quarterback, your offensive line, your skill group, all those things. Ultimately, that’s what the offseason is great for. There’ll be some great carryover, there’ll be some new things that we did in Atlanta, there’ll be some things that I’ve never done [and] they’ve never done that might fit us. The great thing about offensive football, there’s more than one way to do it.

“I think before you even get to scheme and specifics, it’s your style of play. We want our guys to always be in attack mode. We want our guys to play with relentless play energy, effort and strength. I think you start there. You want the guys that just love playing the game together, and that’s evident from what I’ve watched from these guys over the last couple of years. You start with those things, then you build the scheme, the fundamentals, the techniques after that. But there’s a great foundation here with the players, with the scheme that’s been put in place here and there’ll just be tailoring and tweaking from there.”

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Nathan Ray Seebeck

Attack mode, huh? That sounds a little bit like the aggressive nature that Grizzard had in 2025 as he looked to stretch the field vertically, doesn’t it? But for Robinson, there’s a heavy focus on being flexible based on what the coverage give you.

“I think as long as coverage dictates [it]. We’ll never tell the quarterback to just launch a deep ball if nothing’s there, but you’ve got to be able to stretch the field vertically,” Robinson said. “As soon as you don’t have that element, the field feels small. I know there’s some guys here that can get down the field. We know Mike [Evans]. We know what J-Mac (Jalen McMillan) can do. Chris Godwin, [Emeka] Egbuka.

“But like, watching Tez Johnson, he’s got elite speed down the field and he can track it. All those things are exciting. You’ve got to be able to stretch the field vertically, horizontally, all those things, and we’ve got the quarterback to do it.”

As for the money downs and the money areas, Robinson had a lot to say about how he goes about game planning for those situations, situations that can often decide games. Think about it, specifically with a focus on red zone: How many times in 2025 did the Bucs lose a game because they failed to cash in when they got to the red zone? This is where, as Robinson said, it comes down to players over plays. That sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

Bucs OC Zac Robinson – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“First off, you look at the type of coverages that you’re getting in those different windows, like hey, the 2 to 5 window vs. 6 and 10, whatever it ends up being. Identifying those matchups first and foremost,” Robinson said. “When are you getting the man coverages, when can you take advantage of man coverage in those third-down windows? And like I said earlier, it’s players over plays in those moments. It’s concepts that guys own, and then the ability for the quarterback to take off and go and make things happen when it’s not there, is huge.

“Red zone, it’s about being efficient down there. No negative plays. We did a great job last year of doing that, but that’s what the red zone comes down to. No negative plays. We’ve got to have efficient plays down there. You’ve got to score when you get down there. You get more scheme-specific on red zone just because the coverages are a little bit different every single week. Those are always fun to gameplan for. Every team has different challenges. If you play Coach Bowles, that third down day is a monster. You’re trying to work through all the issues with the protection and all those things. Those are definitely fun times to gameplan knowing how crucial those moments are.”

Is Zac Robinson Married To The Pistol Formation?

One of the major criticisms of Zac Robinson from his two seasons with the Falcons was his reliance on running plays out of pistol. That reliance led to plenty of trepidation when the Bucs hired him as their new offensive coordinator late last week. It’s been a big topic of conversation, and it’s one that Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds dove into in his latest SR’s Fab 5 column.

According to data from Sumer Sports, Atlanta led the league in pistol usage with 412 plays in 2024 and again in 2025 with 387 pistol snaps. Factoring in heavy shotgun usage, and there were some games where the Falcons quarterbacks went under center only 5% of the time. That’s a far cry from the Bucs’ usage of shotgun vs. under center snaps.

So, will Robinson be bringing that to Tampa Bay? Will Baker Mayfield be lined up in shotgun far more often than he has been in past years? Based on what the Bucs’ new play-caller said on Tuesday, it sure didn’t sound like it.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

“Won’t dive too much into that,” Robinson said. “Obviously, we’re tailoring everything to your personnel and what you believe is the best way to move the football, and there’s definitely some advantages to that, working out of the pistol. But my background comes from Sean [McVay], true run and pass marriage, underneath the center, all those things that come with that. We’ll pick our spots with what that looks like exactly, and we’ll find out once we kick it off in September.”

Without outright confirming it, it sure sounded like Robinson was giving some credence to the thought that he was running pistol formations more often in Atlanta because of personnel, not philosophy. The limited mobility and relative discomfort Michael Penix Jr. has from under center was a problem, as was the limited mobility of 37-year-old quarterback Kirk Cousins. That’s not a problem in Tampa with Mayfield.

It always felt like that was the case, but with Robinson answering a pistol-based question the way he did, Buccaneer fans everywhere may have just breathed a sigh of relief.

What Are Zac Robinson’s Impressions Of The Bucs’ Offensive Talent?

The situation Zac Robinson is walking into in Tampa Bay is a favorable one, at least from a personnel standpoint. His offense is full of stars, from quarterback Baker Mayfield, running back Bucky Irving and a wide receiver quartet of Mike Evans (should he re-sign), Chris Godwin Jr., Emeka Egbuka and Jalen McMillan to an offensive line that features an All-Pro left tackle in Tristan Wirfs, a big-money right tackle in Cody Mauch and an interior that was plenty formidable when healthy in 2024.

So, what are Robinson’s impressions of the group he has to work with in 2026?

“You’ve got to start with the offensive line,” he said. “I mean, the offensive line is built the right way. When that group is going, there’s no offensive line that you’d rather have around the league. It starts with those guys up front. You look at the skill group, it’s a very versatile group. The receivers speak for themselves. You’ve got a number of different guys that can do a number of different things, and their skill sets all match up really well. So, I’m excited about that. Then, you take a look at the backs. Didn’t study Bucky [Irving] coming out because we weren’t thinking about taking a running back, but then obviously that ’24 season, he came on the scene. There’s a number of things he can do in the run and pass game that I’m excited to get to work with.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield and LT Tristan Wirfs – Photo by: USA Today

“The tight end situation, they’ve got really stable and steady tight ends. I know Cade [Otton]’s a free agent. Those things work themselves out. But collectively, as a group, it’s exciting as a coach to come in and have that at your disposal. Just looking forward to building this the right way with these guys.”

With so much skill talent to work with – more than he had in Atlanta – is it going to be a challenge to spread the ball around and attack defenses in different ways? After two years of doing what he could to get the ball to Bijan Robinson and Drake London at all costs, will this be a bit tougher to plan for?

“I wouldn’t say challenge,” Robinson said. “I think it’s a great opportunity to have a great collection of skill players that can do a number of different things. [I’m still] getting to know these guys on a personal level, but just kind of understanding the building and understanding from their position coaches and talking to those guys, it’s a selfless group of guys. And it shows up on tape. All they want to do is win.

“However the football gets distributed, I know Baker will make the right decision with the ball, where it’s supposed to go dictated on coverage. But it’s a blessing to be with [this] amount of guys that can do a lot of damage with the football.”

Zac Robinson Excited For The “Fun Time Of The Year” With Coaches

Now that Zac Robinson has accepted the Bucs’ offensive coordinator job and he can get to work, it won’t be long before the players are back in the building and getting up to speed on their fifth offensive system in five years. But there is bound to be some carryover, something that will help. And as Robinson put it, it’ll be a buildup over the coming months.

“It’s a buildup. You start when you get these guys in the building and you talk about the style of play that i just mentioned. You talk about the fundamentals of blocking, throwing, catching, run after catch, ball security. You start there, and then you slowly build the scheme. Obviously, that’ll be us as coaches, getting together this offseason, [with] collaborative effort just to make sure that the teaching progression is right.

Bucs OC Zac Robinson – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“But like I mentioned, there’ll be a decent amount of carryover that’s going to be great for these guys when they come in. There’ll be some new, [too]. We’re definitely looking forward to all of us as coaches hunkering down over the next couple of the months and before we know it, the players are going to be back.”

Robinson couldn’t help but smile when talking about the process ahead of him and his offensive coaches, as this is what he described as the “fun time of the year.”

“It’s a fun time of the year. When you’re able to just get in there with the coaches and get down into it. Hey, what are we? you’re figuring out all these different things. feel like, i know these players, but I’ve got to know them on a personal level. I’ve got to work with them up close. But it’s a fun part of the year for us as coaches to all get together and collaborate on that.”