Home NFL Instant Reactions To The Buccaneers Hiring Zac Robinson As Offensive Coordinator

Buccaneers Offensive Coordinator Zac Robinson / via NFL.com

Instant Reactions To The Buccaneers Hiring Zac Robinson As Offensive Coordinator

January 22, 2026

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have found their new offensive coordinator. After missing out on the big name on the market in Mike McDaniel, the team has quickly pivoted to their next best option. They felt that would be former Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson.

Robinson spent two years with the Falcons as their offensive play caller. Before that he spent five years learning under Sean McVay and the Los Angeles Rams. This checked two of the big boxes that the Bucs were looking for in keeping this McVay style offense and getting someone with play calling experience.

However, just because someone has experience doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good experience. The results in Atlanta were a mixed bag. They were 9th worst in total touchdowns scored and many are left to wonder how much of the offensive success was due to Robinson and how much was due to having a super star running back.

So what is to like and what should we feel skeptical about? Here are my instant reactions to the Buccaneers hiring Zac Robinson as offensive coordinator.

Some Good!

The first thing that I like about Robinson is the way he utilizes motion. The more pre snap motion an offense has the more it forces the defense to think and adjust. Even if the motion doesn’t really change anything, the eye candy element to it creates deception for the defense.

Of the 32 teams in the NFL, the Falcons utilized motion the second most in the league. For perspective, a little over ⅔ (67.2%) of all their offensive plays came with some type of motion. For comparison, the highest team in the NFL ran motion 67.5% of the time where the team that ran the least amount of motion ran it at a 38.7% rate.

Also, if you’re someone who likes tempo then this is probably a hire that you’ll like. The Falcons were a team that liked to push pace at times last year. They ran no huddle at the 8th highest rate in the NFL.

So overall you can expect a fast paced offense with a lot of moving parts. In theory, this is pretty exciting.

Some Bad!

One thing I believe about offense is that you can’t have enough play action. It can make a linebacker hesitate a split second and the more you have to make defenders think the slower they are to react. If you aren’t running a lot of play action in your passes then you’re not doing it right.

Robinson didn’t use much play action last year. There is no justification for this in my mind, especially considering the caliber of running backs he had to work with. At just 12% of the time, Atlanta ran the second least play action in the NFL. For comparison, the most play action was the Rams at 21.3%.

There have also been times in watching the Falcons that I have questioned some of the situational play calling. Sometimes it was sequencing. Sometimes it was specific plays for specific situations. Sometimes it was personnel groups in certain situations. I just felt like things weren’t always clicking in a way that they should be.

JT’s Thoughts

One potential concern that I have is that the Falcons used 3+ receivers at a fairly low rate compared to the rest of the NFL. Considering how many good wide receivers the Bucs have, that would be an issue for me. However, that might just be a reflection of the talent he had in Atlanta who isn’t as strong at the position.

Robinson ran a lot of his plays out of shotgun last year. In fact he ran shotgun 4th most in the NFL. This could be a good thing for Baker Mayfield, who as a shorter quarterback needs to be well behind the line of scrimmage to see over it more clearly.

The Falcons ran 12 personal 2nd most in the NFL last year. This means more multiple tight end sets could be expected for the Bucs next year. This could be a benefit to the running game.

Atlanta also ranked 7th in using 21 personnel (two running backs and one tight end). They did so at nearly 50% more rate than the Buccaneers. So if you like creative running looks like the Pony Package then this bodes well for that.

For more from J.T. click here, then make sure to follow him on Twitter.