Liam Coen sees Baker Mayfield thriving with a new offensive coordinator, predicting a bounce-back season fueled by winning and an efficient attack.
As the Tampa Bay Buccaneers enter the final year of Baker Mayfield's three-year, $100 million contract, the Glazer family has made it abundantly clear they intend to extend their three-year starter.
At the annual NFL owners meeting this week in Phoenix, Arizona, Bucs general manager Jason Licht also stated his appreciation for Mayfield.
"He’s one of the toughest guys on the team. He’s a great leader," Licht said.
Regarding the state of contract negotiations with their star QB, Licht said, "At some point, I’m sure we’ll figure something out. There’s no timetable on that."
Mayfield will team up with new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson, who joins the staff after five seasons (2019-2023) on Los Angeles Rams' head coach Sean McVay's staff before following Raheem Morris to the Atlanta Falcons for the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
Robinson steps into a Tampa offense that looked special early in the season, but fizzled out as the year wore on. He replaces former offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard, who was fired following the season.
Robinson has crossed paths with many talented coaches and coordinators throughout his time in the NFL, most notably former Bucs offensive coordinator Liam Coen. Coen, entering his second season as head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, worked with both Robinson and Mayfield in Los Angeles.
Coen compared Robinson's system to his own, saying that Mayfield will thrive in an offense more similar to his breakout 2024 season.
That year, the Bucs produced a top 5 scoring offense and running game while Mayfield posted 4,500 passing yards, 41 touchdowns and a franchise-record 71.4% completion percentage.
The offense was fast-paced and space-oriented, providing skill players opportunities to make plays in space. The Bucs ran lots of pre-snap motion, mixing up gap and zone run schemes.
Coen was asked about how he thinks Robinson will fare in Tampa Bay Tuesday, asking him if he is predicting a revival-type season for Mayfield and the Bucs offense.
“I am,” Coen told the media that were assembled at the NFL Owners Meetings this week In Arizona. “ Obviously their connection – they have a prior relationship, and again, that definitely helps with Baker. He’s going to probably be teed off – a little ticked off to have a better season, get back to the playoffs and do some of those things.
“Because that’s what he cares about – winning. That’s all that he gives a crap about,” Coen said. “I’ve got to believe that those guys will get back to that.”
Coen believes Robinson will mesh with Mayfield's competitiveness, while bringing an offensive scheme similar to 2024, pointing to his ability to "get [Tampa's] playmakers the ball."
“Obviously, I think he had low key some of the best screens in the NFL to both Bijan [Robinson] and the tight ends, getting some of your playmakers the ball," Coen said. "Look, that wideout room is pretty talented in Tampa. I think the running back room is talented. The O-line is damn good and you re-signed Cade Otton. I think Zac has definitely a plethora of weapons to go work with.”
Coen credited Robinson's prior work, highlighting some of his breakout players in Atlanta while comparing them to Tampa's personnel.
“I think the way he’s used some of the wideouts in Atlanta, and you look at two years with [Darnell] Mooney and Drake London and what they were able to do, I know he knows how to get wideouts open,” Coen said. “There is no question in my mind that they are going to have real, efficient attacks in their game-planning specific to the pass game and the run game.”
For Mayfield, building chemistry with Robinson will be crucial as he enters a contract season. His familiarity with the McVay coaching tree, along with Coen’s heavy endorsement, provides a promising start, but only time will tell.
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