Chandler Whitmer Wants No Credit For Bucs Drafting Rueben Bain
May 12th, 2026
Bucs QB coach Chandler Whitmer.
Outside of the Bucs hiring Miami coach Mario Cristobal or Hurricanes defensive line coach Jason Taylor, no one knows first-hand what sort of gamewrecker Bucs defensive lineman Rueben Bain is than Bucs new quarterbacks coach Chandler Whitmer.
How is that? Well, last year Whitmer was Indiana’s co-offensive coordinator. And in the national championship game, Bain wrecked his gameplan.
(But Whitmer found a way to get the job done — helps to have had the best quarterback in college football — and Indiana beat Miami for the national title.)
So Joe asked Whitmer if Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht or anyone on Licht’s staff had a sitdown with Whitmer when the Bucs were doing their draft research.
Whitmer said, yes, he talked to his colleagues in personnel about Bain. But Whitmer stopped Joe and basically said there was plenty of available intel on Bain and the Bucs didn’t make up their minds from anything Whitmer may have told them.
“There was some conversations,” Whitmer said. “Not as much about the gameplan of it, but just what we thought of him as a player [and] scouting [Bain] throughout the preparation for the national championship.
“But again, [Licht] didn’t need to hear it from me. You can see it. The tape speaks for itself. The guy’s a phenomenal player.”
Whitmer wasn’t the only Bucs coach who had to face Bain. Though Bain has only had two rookie minicamp practices, Bucs offensive line coach Kevin Carberry had to get mostly UDFAs last weekend to try to slow Bain down in underwear football.
Color Carberry impressed. He said even in underwear football, he can tell just how explosive Bain is off the snap.
May 12th, 2026 at 3:57 pm
What is this guy? 12?
May 12th, 2026 at 4:07 pm
Reuben Bain is only fast off the ball in a 3/4 point stance
If he’s a standup OLB, he won’t get off the ball as fast
He need to stay low to the ground, to go under/around OT
He’s has a huge advantage playing with his hands in the dirt
He’s at a greater disadvantage when standing up
It will be interesting to see him in NFL action
May 12th, 2026 at 4:11 pm
He primarily rushed from a 3 point stance at Miami
In high school at Miami Central, he rushed from a 3 and 4 point stance
But l never seen him rush from a standing position
He may have, but l never seen him do it
May 12th, 2026 at 4:14 pm
Buc1987
I said the same thing when I saw his locker next to Kionte Scott
May 12th, 2026 at 4:21 pm
Bain has plenty of successful rushes from the 9 tech lakeland.
May 12th, 2026 at 4:24 pm
Bain operates from a 2 point stance…..his short arms don’t allow him achieve 3 points….
May 12th, 2026 at 4:34 pm
Reuben Bain is most successful from a 3 point stance
But, he was successful at Miami Central rushing from a 4 point stance
He has leverage with his hands in the dirt, that’s his strength
His weakness is rushing from a standing position
May 12th, 2026 at 4:56 pm
Even when Reuben Bain was rushing from a 9 tech
He was still rushing from a 3 point stance
That’s his strength, that’s where he has the advantage with his short arms
He has to be low to the ground, to use his lower body strength, and quickness
A 2 point stance is an advantage for a taller, longer arm Edge Rusher
May 12th, 2026 at 5:08 pm
This Chandler Whitmer kid coached the best QB in college football in the last 8 years. 2025, Mendoza, 16 games. 3600 passing yards, 41 TD passes, 6 picks,183 passer rating. Wow! 2017, Mayfield, 14 games. 4300 passing yards, 41 TD passes, 5 picks, 199 passer rating. Both Heismann winners and first picks. Coming off of coaching the second best QB season in college football history and moving into coaching the QB with the best season in college football history and this Whitmer might just have some gold dust dripping off him. Shlt for brains will do when you have luck. How much do you want to bet this kid has some upward mobility in his very near future?
May 12th, 2026 at 5:15 pm
The short arm syndrome is literally ridiculous! Find something else you guys have beat this dead horse into submission WTF !
May 12th, 2026 at 5:34 pm
Now, young Chandler will need to remember not to over coach Baker. He did throw 25 TD passes at the University of Connecticut. But he also threw 30 interceptions. Those are his career numbers. Don’t teach Baker about picks. He already knows about those. I just don’t want Baker knowing as much as you know about them, coach.
May 12th, 2026 at 6:02 pm
So now it’s all Bain all the time.
I guess everybody gets asked what do you think of Bain now and that becomes an article, including QB coaches.
Guy actually talked about QB play and coaching too – you know, the stuff he’s paid to think about.
He said Baker will be coached hard and that he wants to be. That’s what I liked to hear because that is, I suspect, a missing link from last season.
May 12th, 2026 at 6:47 pm
Kenton smith
You suck dude.
What a hater. What a loser.
We are lucky to have a new QB coach.
Welcome to Tampa coach!
Don’t listen to that trashy troll.
May 12th, 2026 at 7:42 pm
Kenton you are forgetting Burrows greatest of all time season 60 TDs, but Mendoza n Mayfield are definitely 2 n 3 in that order cause Mendoza won the championship
May 12th, 2026 at 8:08 pm
Maybe Chandler is young and naive enough to have some immune response to the Bowles Regressenza virus.
May 12th, 2026 at 8:10 pm
Go snag Cignetti for us kid! Now that would make the difference we are looking for