Connection Between Baker Mayfield, New OC Could Lift Bucs

Getty Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield.

There isn’t a very big sample size from the time Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield spent with Liam Coen on the Los Angeles Rams.

Not only is it not a very big sample size, it’s not a very good sample size — Mayfield went 1-3 in four starts for the Rams with Coen as the offensive coordinator.

Now, the two are teamed up again in 2024.

Mayfield signed a 3-year, $100 million contract in March 2024 after his first Pro Bowl season in 2023, when he played on a 1-year, $4 million contract. Coen is the Buccaneers’ new offensive coordinator after leading one of the SEC’s worst offenses in 2023 at the University of Kentucky, with the Wildcats finishing 11th out of 14 teams in total offense.

How those two vibe — or don’t — could be the determining factor in how high the Buccaneers rise or how steeply they fall in 2024, according to The Athletic’s Dan Pompei.

Mayfield’s offensive coordinator from 2023, Dave Canales, is now the head coach for the Carolina Panthers and will try to work his magic with another quarterback in 2023 No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young.

“Mayfield had a career year under Dave Canales, but there is room for growth with new coordinator Liam Coen, with whom Mayfield worked for a short time with the Rams two years ago,” Pompei wrote. “Mayfield will be given more authority at the line of scrimmage than he had, which could make him more dangerous. He also would benefit if Coen could improve the run game, which ranked 32nd in the NFL one year ago.”

Breaking Down Baker Mayfield’s Time With Rams

From an objective view, Mayfield has had two really good/great seasons in the NFL since the Cleveland Browns drafted him with the No. 1 overall pick out of Oklahoma in the 2018 NFL draft.

One of those seasons was in 2020, when he led the Browns to an 11-5 record and an AFC playoff berth. The other was in 2023, with the Buccaneers, when he threw for career highs of 4,044 yards and 28 touchdowns while leading Tampa Bay to a third consecutive NFC South Division title.

It’s safe to say 2022 represented the low point of Mayfield’s career. He went 2-8 as the starter for the Panthers and the Rams but lucked out when he was the best (and cheapest) quarterback available when Tom Brady decided to retire for a second time and Tampa Bay was in desperate need of a quarterback.

In doing so, the Buccaneers gambled he would be more like the player he was with the Browns than the one he was with the Panthers and Rams. In four starts with the Rams (and another game he came off the bench), Mayfield threw for 850 yards, 4 touchdowns and 2 interceptions but had a respectable 86.4 QB rating.

Bad Timing for Coen Means Missed Super Bowl

One look at Coen’s time as an assistant coach shows a glaring missed opportunity — or just bad timing.

Coen was the assistant wide receivers coach and assistant quarterbacks coach for the Rams from 2018 to 2020 but left for the 2021 season for his first stint as Kentucky’s quarterbacks coach in 2021.

While Kentucky went 10-3 and won the Citrus Bowl — a banner season for the SEC also-ran — the Rams went on to win the Super Bowl in Coen’s one year away.