When the Tampa Bay Buccaneers face off with the Atlanta Falcons, all eyes will be on Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield and Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski. Stefanski was the Cleveland Browns head coach when the team moved on from Baker Mayfield in order to trade multiple first-round picks to start Deshaun Watson.
When Stefanski was hired by the Falcons, Mayfield took to social media to set the bar for the new rivalry between the NFC South foes.
When D. Orlando Ledbetter of Bowtiesports tweeted that the Falcons’ new coach was failed by Mayfield, Mayfield noted that the article, in praise of the Falcons’ new hire, was a reach.
“Failed is quite the reach pal. Still waiting on a text/call from him after I got shipped off like a piece of garbage. Can’t wait to see you twice a year, Coach,” tweeted Mayfield.
In anticipation of the Bucs Week 8 matchup, the words exchanged in the media prior to the game have been a bit more calm. However, Mayfield did confirm that he has still not heard from Stefanski, even after the January tweet.
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When asked if he ever heard from Stefanski, Mayfield once again made it clear that the last time he heard from Stefanski he was a player for his team.
“No, I haven’t spoken to him since 2021,” said Mayfield, who expected a call after the team traded him.
However, when asked if it eats at him that the coach who traded him never even sent him a text afterwards, he admitted that it does not.
“No, I’m doing all right,” he said.
It is much easier to say for Mayfield now that he signed a three-year, $165M extension after signing a three-year, $100M deal prior to that.
Stefanski Praises Mayfield
Mayfield did play against the Browns and Stefanski when he was with the Carolina Panthers, but this will be his first start against his old head coach as a franchise quarterback.
Stefanski was given a chance to discuss Mayfield and had nothing but good things to say about his former quarterback. However, he did keep things brief as well.
“Yeah, he’s still a playmaker,” said Stefanski when asked what he sees differently from Mayfield since he coached him in 2021. “No play is ever over. He’s just going to constantly make plays down the field. He can run. He’s extremely talented.”
He was not asked about his contact or lack of contact with Mayfield.
Mayfield was 29-30 as the Browns quarterback. The team went 11-5 in his third NFL season and won a playoff game. However, after trying to play through an injury in 2021, the team went 6-8 and missed the playoffs.
Cleveland decided that his injury-riddled season in 2021 outweighed the playoff win in 2020 and moved on. Mayfield has gone 30-35 as a starter since then. Stefanski is 27-36 since then. However, Mayfield is 1-2 in the playoffs since then, and Stefanski is 0-1.
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