The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 2026 coaching staff is set and it includes multiple new additions in all three phases of the game. After previously revealing the hires of Danny Smith as special teams coordinator and Zac Robinson as offensive coordinator, the Buccaneers announced seven new additions to the staff on Thursday, as well as a trio of promotions.
Notable additions to the offensive staff along with the arrival of Robinson include T.J. Yates as pass game coordinator, Ken Zampese as senior offensive assistant/pass game specialist and Chandler Whitmer as quarterbacks coach. Zampese and Yates worked with Robinson on Raheem Morris's staff with the Atlanta Falcons the past two seasons. Robinson was Atlanta's offensive coordinator while Zampese served as the team's senior offensive assistant. Yates, who had also been on the Falcons' staff under Head Coach Arthur Smith from 2021-23, held the position of quarterbacks coach in 2024 and passing game coordinator/wide receivers coach in 2025.
Whitmer was also on the Falcons' staff in 2024 as a pass game specialist but he spent 2005 as the co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach for the University of Indiana, helping the Hoosiers complete an historic 16-0 season and win the first football national championship in school history. With Whitmer's help, Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza won the Heisman Trophy after leading the nation with 41 touchdown passes and a 182.9 passer rating.
The Buccaneers have made the following additions to their 2026 coaching staff:
- Todd Bowles Jr. – Defensive Assistant
- Andrew Mitchell – Assistant Offensive Line Coach
- Luke Smith – Assistant Special Teams Coach
- Marcus West – Defensive Line Coach
- Chandler Whitmer – Quarterbacks Coach
- T.J. Yates – Pass Game Coordinator
- Ken Zampese – Senior Offensive Assistant/Pass Game Specialist
In addition, the following coaches have been promoted to new positions:
- Tim Atkins – Safeties Coach
- Rashad Johnson – Cornerbacks Coach
- Chad Wade – Head Strength and Conditioning Coach
The Buccaneers also announced that the following five members of the team's 2025 coaching staff are no longer with the organization: Kefense Hynson, Brian Picucci, Anthony Piroli, Jordan Somerville and Keith Tandy.
Whitmer began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Yale (2018), Ohio State (2019) and Clemson (2020) before entering the professional ranks as an offensive quality control coach for the Los Angeles Chargers (2021-23) and the pass game specialist for the Atlanta Falcons (2024). In addition to working with Mendoza, Whitmer has also helped develop the likes of Justin Herbert, Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields and Michael Penix Jr. He contributed to three College Football Playoff appearances with Indiana, Ohio State and Clemson.
Yates joins Tampa Bay after spending the past five seasons with the Atlanta Falcons, most recently as passing game coordinator in 2025 after serving as quarterbacks coach (2024), wide receivers coach (2022-23) and passing game specialist (2021). He previously worked two seasons with the Houston Texans as assistant quarterbacks coach (2020) and offensive assistant (2019), helping the club capture the AFC South title and advance to the Divisional Round in 2019.
Yates' work as quarterbacks coach in 2024 resulted in Atlanta's offense ranking sixth in the NFL in yards per game (369.8) and fifth in passing yards per game (239.3). As wide receivers coach in 2022-23, Yates oversaw the development of Drake London, who set a franchise record for the most receptions by a rookie with 72 in 2022. Over his first two NFL seasons, London recorded 141 receptions, breaking Julio Jones' franchise record for catches through a player's first two seasons, while totaling 1,771 receiving yards and leading Atlanta in both receptions and receiving yards in each season.
Zampese has logged more than 35 years of coaching, most of it in the NFL, including stints as the Cincinnati Bengals' offensive coordinator from 2016-17, the Washington Commanders' quarterbacks coach from 2020-22 and the St. Louis Rams' wide receivers coach from 2001-02.
Mitchell was most recently the offensive line coach at his alma mater, Oklahoma State. Mitchell and Robinson are also former teammates at OSU, the former as an offensive tackle and the latter as a quarterback. Both had brief playing careers in the NFL before moving into coaching.
West joins the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after four years with the Buffalo Bills, most recently serving as their defensive line coach following two seasons as the assistant defensive line coach. He was promoted to defensive line coach following the 2023 season when the Bills tallied 54 sacks, which were fourth-most in the NFL. He helped the Bills defense finish 2022 ranked first in the AFC with 17.8 points per game allowed and ranked second in the NFL with 286 points allowed.
Atkins has been on the Buccaneers' coaching staff for seven years, beginning with three seasons (2019-21) as a defensive quality control coach before moving on to assistant secondary coach for the past four seasons. Johnson first joined the Buccaneers as a Bill Walsh Coaching Fellow in 2022, after which he was hired as a defensive assistant and then promoted to assistant secondary coach in 2023.
Bowles Jr. joins Tampa Bay after playing football collegiately at Long Island (2024-25) and Rutgers (2022-23). Prior to college, he attended Jesuit High School in Tampa, where he won a regional title as a junior. Smith previously served with the Pittsburgh Steelers as a quality control coach in 2025.
