Are The Bucs Trying To Pluck A Coach From The National Champs?
January 30th, 2026
Indiana co-OC Chandler Whitmer.
No, please don’t jump to conclusions. The Bucs are not in talks with Curt Cignetti.
However, an Indiana coach is very much on their radar. Fetching Colleen Wolfe of NFL Network reports, by way of Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk, that the Bucs are interviewing Hoosiers co-offensive coordinator Chandler Whitmer to be the next Bucs’ quarterback coach.
Color Joe intrigued. Very, very intrigued.
All throughout the season and into the playoffs and as the Hoosiers were winning an unthinkable championship, all Joe heard from those in the know was how they sighed in ecstasy about how well Indiana was coached up.
Whitmer seems to have worked for a bunch of quality quarterbacks and quality coaches. At Indiana he was mostly the Hoosiers’ quarterback coach and in his lone year on the job in Bloomington oversaw Fernando Mendoza’s transformation into a Heisman Trophy winner and a likely No. 1 overall pick.
In prior gigs, Whitmer worked with Justin Herbert and Michael Penix in the NFL and C.J. Stroud, Trevor Lawrence and Mendoza in college. Some of the coaches Whitmer worked with include Bucs offensive coordinator Zac Robinson at Atlanta, New Orleans coach Kellen Moore when he was the offensive coordinator with the Chargers, Ohio State’s Ryan Day, Clemson’s Dabo Swinney and Indiana’s Cignetti in college.
Joe would hope rubbing elbows with all those guys, Whitmer may have learned a thing or two.
Again, everyone who calls himself a college football analyst just raves about how well-coached Indiana is. So just reading Whitmer’s resume and remembering how people went nuts over Indiana’s detail to fundamentals, including Mendoza, Joe can’t help but think this Whitmer might be a rising star within football’s coaching ranks.
Joe still can’t believe Indiana, of all people, won a national championship. In football! The Hoosiers?! We live in very strange times.
January 30th, 2026 at 12:11 am
I wouldnt have let him leave the building I think he would be amazing for Baker an he is young an I like younger coaches have more energy an fire IMO
January 30th, 2026 at 12:57 am
It’s a wait and see with the Bucs new offensive staff but it’s seems like they’re putting together a decent offensive staff including Whitmer which I think will happen by tomorrow if he wants to to leave college. All of the new offensive coaches are under 40 except the senior offensive coach that Robinson is bringing in. The hardest part of putting together a good staff in the NFL especially if they’re successful is, every year other teams will come to pluck from the tree. IF the Bucs new staff is able to be successful and stay together for the next 2 years, maybe a good situation to replace Bowles when he retires. Bowles is around 62 or 63 so 2 more years and he at basic retirement age or maybe he move into the office
January 30th, 2026 at 1:13 am
Thiswould be an intersting hire. I kind of thought that he would follow Mendoza to the Raiders or wherever the assumed #1 pick of the ’26 draft ends up but if the Bucs can land him, that will be one more sharp young mind to add to the fold. Good hire if the Bucs can get him!
January 30th, 2026 at 1:21 am
Again, this is JL & TB prove it year. Every hire and every detail need to be scrutinized. The NFL is a production league. This sounds positive, but, until it’s finalized it’s just talk.
January 30th, 2026 at 3:10 am
Zach Rob is putting together a staff for 2027 Buccaneers debut😉🤭👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾🤙🏾
January 30th, 2026 at 3:11 am
Head coach 2027🤙🏾🤙🏾Buccaneers
January 30th, 2026 at 3:13 am
All this offensive press is a distraction from the bull… ish D. Including the LVD article 🤙🏾👊🏾
January 30th, 2026 at 3:33 am
Whitmer served as an offensive quality control coach for the Chargers from 2021 to 2023 when Kellen Moore was the OC there.