What Impresses Zac Robinson About Baker Mayfield
January 29th, 2026
Riffs on Baker Mayfield.
The Joe typing here has been clear on this here corner of the interwebs and on the “Ira Kaufman Podcast” several times stating total love for the intangibles and heart Baker Mayfield brings to the table.
But sooner or later, that has to translate to wins, both regular season and preferably in the postseason.
How did Mayfield’s outstanding intangibles help after the bye when the Bucs lost seven of nine games?
But it is Mayfield’s intangibles that drew new Bucs offensive coordinator Zac Robinson to the Bucs. Yes, Robinson and Mayfield worked together in Los Angeles for a handful of weeks in 2022. But Robinson said he first met Mayfield, he noticed something different.
“I knew Baker had been through adversity – he had had great success in Cleveland and then obviously went to Carolina,” Robinson said. “He came in right away and was meeting guys for the first time in the huddle on Wednesday’s practice and you could just see everybody gravitates towards Baker.
“That’s what you’re looking for from that position. You want that true igniter, you want that guy that elevates the rest of the group. When you have a guy like that, you have a chance to win every single Sunday.
“The impact that he has, obviously just as a leader … You can speak to the talent and the type of player he is and all those things, but those guys that give you a chance every single Sunday – and the guys in that locker room know it – it’s a big deal.”
Before the bye, Mayfield’s intangibles were on full display. He had four come-from-behind wins in the fourth quarter. He willed the Bucs to win, picking up critical third-down conversions with his feet. After the bye, those intangibles, for whatever reason, weren’t effective. They didn’t matter.
It got to a point where Mayfield unloaded on his teammates for a lack of a killer instinct.
Mayfield wasn’t the only Bucs player to call out teammates. Even Bucs coach Todd Bowles very publicly did. The Bucs still lost seven of nine to close a playoff-less season.
Intangibles are great. But unless the team wins, intangibles don’t mean a hill of beans.
January 29th, 2026 at 10:16 am
Perhaps for the first time in his career, Baker can have an above average defense help him win games. Make it happen!
January 29th, 2026 at 10:17 am
So it is Baker’s fault that a lot of players in 2025 had no heart to play big on every single play. I get it, Joe. Because others don’t do their jobs it is Baker’s fault that they don’t win. This is a character issue with a lot of players on that squad not named Baker Mayfield.
January 29th, 2026 at 10:25 am
Well, wait a minute now. Aren’t quarterbacks “lee-DUHRS?” Hey, the NFL pounds into people’s heads the value of leadership and heart. Hell, it probably was why the Bucs drafted Jameis Winston in the first place.
So maybe this nonsense about “lee-DUHRS” and that sort of crap just might be a tad overrated?
As Dirk Koetter often said, the NFL is a “production league.” Production, production, production. Can’t produce results? Then step aside and get the hell out of the way for someone who can.
There really are very few leaders in the NFL and the message often grows empty when the losses (non-production) begin to pile up. Just look at Tom Brady’s trajectory with the Bucs. From players following and obeying his every move to, when the losses started coming, he was largely ignored.
January 29th, 2026 at 10:50 am
“Can’t produce results? Then step aside and get the hell out of the way for someone who can.”
Please apply this thought process to Bowles.
He’s the reason we missed the playoffs and went 2-7 after the bye week.
It’s the annual Toad Bowels long sustained losing streak we’ve become accustomed to.
Somehow a guy with two sub 500 seasons as HC\DC got to keep his job.
While SB winning HC’s and proven winners got fired.
And we all know why.
January 29th, 2026 at 10:55 am
I get it Joe, QB is the most important position in football and really it is the hardest position in all of sports in my opinion. That being said it is a team sport, leadership only takes it so far. I believe, that over and over it was different guys not caring or giving a half butt effort on every single play this year. Mayfield hardly every had a clean pocket to throw from. Watching other games I often wonder why Bucs could not provide it. Now he was not perfect by any means, but by mid year he was playing with PTSD, wondering where the hit was coming from. A play only last on average 6 seconds from snap of the ball, less than 15 minutes a game of actual playing time. I have actually timed it myself. So if you have people that can’t give maximum effort and attention for 6 seconds, you have some house cleaning to do.
January 29th, 2026 at 10:58 am
In the end it all falls on OC Todd Bowles to deliver. Apparently the Glazers are willing to give him another chance. Injuries greatly factored into a losing season. The Bucs have a good team. It’s Todd Bowles last chance to prove himself capable.
I believe the Bucs can. With fewer injuries they have the players and lockeroom leadership to play to their capacity.
January 29th, 2026 at 11:13 am
You can lead a horse to water. You can pull his head down by the stream. But you can’t make him drink.
January 29th, 2026 at 11:18 am
JustVisiting Says:
January 29th, 2026 at 11:13 am
You can lead a horse to water. You can pull his head down by the stream. But you can’t make him drink.
…….
You can waterboard that horse and they will get their drink.
January 29th, 2026 at 1:27 pm
Moxie?
January 29th, 2026 at 7:17 pm
Don’t mean to discourage you, but the reality must be addressed , since the Super Bowl began I looked up how many sub .500 career win Quarterbacks and sub .500 career win coaches have ever been to the Super Bowl , not won, just participated, and how many were on the same team? I don’t have the heart to tell you , but it’s more rare that unicorns, much, much, more rare than unicorns,( and how many unicorns have you ever seen?).
January 29th, 2026 at 7:28 pm
JD Still, just off hand I can decipher that Jimmy Johnson and Troy Aikman did it. I’m sure Chuck Noll and Terry Bradshaw did it. Doggonnit, now I’m gonna have to do some research.
January 29th, 2026 at 7:32 pm
I’ll be glad when the infatuation with is done it’s a little weird he’s not the franchise guy we should find a gm that knows how to scout and evaluate college QBs. How is a 12 gm still here and can’t scout and draft a franchise qb. Such low standards smh. Licht living off what Brady did six years ago
January 29th, 2026 at 9:10 pm
Kenton Smith: I think you misunderstood , I was talking about having won less games than they have lost , for example if a Quarterback has won 50 games and lost 50 games, he would have a .500 record , if he had won 40 games and lost 60 he would have a sub .500 record, Although I did’t check I’m Pretty sure all those players and coaches you mentioned have won more games than they have lost, (plus .500 career wins ,above average) , more than 500 wins , I’m not sure.
January 29th, 2026 at 11:22 pm
JD, heading into 1993 Aikman was 18-30 his first 3 years and his 4th year he went 13-3 and won the Super Bowl. Jimmy Johnson was a losing coach up until then also. Quite a few QBs with losing career records played in Super Bowls and same goes for coaches, but you are right that it’s rare that both QB and coach at Super Bowl each have losing career records.