Chandler Whitmer can be a key piece to the puzzle that gets Baker Mayfield back on track
Whitmer has an excellent resume, and he knows Zac Robinson’s offense. It’s a great setup for Baker Mayfield.
As it’s been stated an infinite number of times before: An NFL team typically only goes as far as its quarterback can take it.
If you don’t have a QB, you’re not going to win many games.
It’s why the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have tried to keep Baker Mayfield’s environment as stable as possible over the last few years. He’s proven capable of making the Bucs into contenders, and the better the infrastructure around him, the higher his ceiling grows.
That’s why the Buccaneers’ new QBs coach, former Indiana Hoosiers co-offensive coordinator Chandler Whitmer, is such a key hire on the surface. To fully flesh it out, I brought in A to Z Indy’s Destin Adams, who is very familiar with the job he did at Indiana.
How big a role did Chandler Whitmer play in Fernando Mendoza‘s development?
Destin: Due to fellow co-OC Mike Shanahan being the play-caller, you could make the argument that Whitmer was the most hands-on person on staff with Mendoza. He was hired for his knowledge of the game and his ability to coach QBs. We saw Mendoza have his best year, win the Heisman, and lead the team to a National Championship. He should also end up as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Curt Cignetti has gotten the most out of his quarterbacks at every stop of his career, but I think Whitmer deserves a ton of credit for the work he did for Mendoza and Indiana this year.
Evan: I definitely don’t think it’s a coincidence that Mendoza did what he did during his first year with Whitmer. The fact that he immediately tapped into the Heisman winner bodes well for a fast start with Mayfield.
Outside the Mendoza situation, what makes Whitmer so appealing?
Destin: For the Buccaneers in particular, his experience in Zac Robinson’s offense (he was the Falcons’ pass game specialist in 2024) will be valuable, especially knowing that Whitmer will be working closely with Mayfield to help him get the system and playbook down. He is also a wise offensive mind, and many who have been around him have shared that he can help players read a defense’s pre-snap intentions at a very high level.
Evan: Obviously, past experience with Robinson is huge. You want this all to go as seamlessly as possible, and having to learn a new offense while helping another guy learn it is a lot to put on someone’s plate. Fortunately, that won’t be the case here.
The pre-snap stuff is really interesting. Mayfield is adept at pre-snap reads, but he struggles against man and MOFC coverages. I wonder if Whitmer can help him get over that in 2026?
What were Whitmer’s responsibilities as co-offensive coordinator at Indiana?
Destin: As mentioned earlier, Shanahan was Indiana’s play-caller, so Whitmer handled a lot of the game week preparation to make sure the entire offense was ready to execute the gameplan they had mapped out. And as many across college football have highlighted, no one executed their gameplan on a weekly basis better than the National Champion Indiana Hoosiers last year.
Evan: The Buccaneers repeatedly mentioned that things didn’t translate from practice to game day during their demise, so hopefully Whitmer gets to handle this for them, because something has to change.
Does he have a personality that gels with Mayfield?
Destin: Every chance Mendoza got to speak on the coaching staff, he mentioned how much Whitmer meant to him as a coach and as a person. Mendoza and Mayfield seem like very different personalities, but people I talk to close to the Hoosier program rave about how much players love Whitmer. He’s the type of guy who makes you enthusiastically go to war every game. If I had to guess, I think him and Mayfield will get along just fine for that reason alone.
Evan: Mayfield has grown up so much from the moment he first entered the league, but as we saw with Kevin Stefanski, he can still be rough around the edges, at times. That’s fine, because that fire helps fuel his on-field success, but it still takes a certain kind of personality to really vibe with him. I don’t have many doubts, myself, but it’s definitely something to monitor.
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