BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football quarterbacks coach Chandler Whitmer is headed back to the NFL to fill the same role for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.
Whitmer was a key contributor on coach Curt Cignetti’s staff during his only season in Bloomington. He played a key role in helping Fernando Mendoza win the Heisman Trophy — Mendoza credited Whitmer’s coaching strategies for his development throughout the season — and the team winning the national title.
“I don’t think I can put it in words how much coach Whitmer has meant to me, not only on the physical standpoint but also the mental standpoint in the game,” Mendoza said in November. “He’s been such a blessing and honestly one of the huge reasons that I’ve been having the season we’ve had so far.”
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The move for Whitmer reunites him with Zac Robinson, who the Bucs recently hired as their offensive coordinator. Whitmer spent two seasons as an offensive quality control coach with the Los Angeles Chargers while Robinson was on staff as the team’s quarterbacks coach.
Cignetti will have to fill the role for a second straight year after hiring Whitmer to replace his previous quarterbacks coach Tino Sunseri. Sunseri was one of the coaches Cignetti brought over from James Madison with him, but he left after the 2024 season to be UCLA’s offensive coordinator.
The Bruins staff has since turned over and Sunseri hasn’t landed another position.
While Whitmer is the first on-field assistant to leave this cycle, Cignetti has already hired a replacement for IU’s director of athletic performance Derek Owings.
Indiana has been proactive about keeping its staff intact going back to the 10-0 start in Cignetti’s first season. All of the assistants received new contracts last year and are expected to land new deals in the coming weeks with pay raises.
“We have to adapt to the market conditions as they change,” IU athletic director Scott Dolson told The Herald-Times over the summer. “Resources aren’t unlimited, but it’s up to us to work together from an administrative standpoint, and put resources in the right places so we can retain a coach who is super important to our program.
“It’s an ongoing, day-to-day thing, particularly in the offseason when movement happens quickly and you try to figure out what we need.”
The Hoosiers previously announced contract extensions for offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan and defensive coordinator Bryant Haines.
“It’s been a special ride, and I think we had just the right staff, the right players, and everybody that was right for the job to make this thing happen,” Cignetti said the day after winning the CFP title. “And it’s just unbelievable to be a part of, and doing it at Indiana makes it 10 times more special.”
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