The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are closing in on making Liam Coen their next offensive coordinator and it seems that Baker Mayfield believes it is a replacement for former coordinator Dave Canales that can help them maintain the progress they had on offense this past season.
Heading into the 2023-24 NFL season, there was a lot of concern that the Buccaneers’ offense would take some notable steps backward after the retirement of league legend Tom Brady. Especially with disappointing former top overall draft pick Baker Mayfield being his replacement and a first-time offensive coordinator leading the unit.
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However, to the surprise of many, the Bucs’ offensive was far better than expected and played a major role in them getting to the playoffs and scoring an upset Wild Card Round victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. Furthermore, Canales helped guide Mayfield to his best season in the league and to Pro Bowl honors for the first time in his career.
But that success also led to Canales getting the job as the new head coach of the Carolina Panthers. That loss certainly added some new doubt to Mayfield being a lock to re-sign with Tampa when he becomes a free agent this offseason. Yet those chances may have gotten a huge boost this week with reports that the team was closing in on a deal with former Los Angeles Rams and Kentucky Wildcats OC Liam Coen.
Baker Mayfield a big fan of new Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator
Mayfield worked with Coen during a productive run with the Rams late in the 2022 season and had nothing but positive things to say about that experience while at practice for the Pro Bowl this week.
“I got to work with Liam in L.A.,” he said. “Great guy. Really, really great guy. If they lock that down for sure, it’s a similar system. Same system, with some different terminology in how he wants to call things. There’s something to say about that with continuity in the offense for skill guys and the offensive line. It’s important to have.”
The quarterback reportedly wanted to see who the team chose to be the new OC before talking about a new contract in the coming weeks. The fact that he has such respect for Coen and believes he has a style that could continue his strong play from this season is good news for a potential return.
Various reports have suggested Mayfield could command a deal worth as much as $40 million while others claim he could take a more team-friendly deal. The Bucs must re-sign Baker Mayfield this spring since their chance of finding a similar or better replacement is nonexistent.
Mayfield saw major jumps in most of his stats in the five games under Coen, compared to the seven he started with the Carolina Panthers to begin the 2022 NFL season.