Baker Mayfield’s NFL ride has been a masterclass in instability. Since entering the league in 2018, he’s worked with more offensive coordinators than some quarterbacks have playoff starts. Freddie Kitchens, Todd Monken, Kevin Stefanski, Alex Van Pelt, Dave Canales… the list goes on. Every time Baker started finding his rhythm, the scheme changed, the faces shuffled, and the reset button got smashed. Hard.

Somewhere in that blur of new faces and fresh playbooks, one guy just clicked. Liam Coen. Coen didn’t just hand him a system; he helped Baker slow the game down, trust his eyes, and rediscover the version of himself that once lit up the league. Now, with Coen off to the Jaguars and camp underway, Baker’s finally opening up about what it all meant.

When Liam Coen came to the Bucs back in 2024, it turned everything around. For Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers. “He helped me reach the next level… making sure we’re all on the same page. He was unbelievable for me and the trajectory of my career,” Mayfield said on the New Heights podcast.

Mayfield reached another level under the tutelage of Coen. He led the entire league in just about every major QB stat: 4,500 yards, 41 touchdowns, a ridiculous 71.4% completion rate, and a career-best 106.8 passer rating. Yeah, that Pro Bowl nod? Totally earned. It wasn’t just Baker, either. The whole Bucs offense was clicking. For the first time ever, an NFL team completed over 70% of its passes and averaged more than 5 yards per carry in a season.

And it wasn’t just the stats that improved; it was Mayfield’s role, too. Coen shifted the offense to a pass-first approach on early downs, which dramatically improved that first-half efficiency. Tampa jumped from 31st to 10th in first-down pass rate, which is an insane leap. What did it lead to? Boosts in success rate and expected points added.

But when Coen leave for the Jaguars? Well, Mayfield couldn’t help but bring up his past of inconsistent OCs. “I keep losing these OCs, they keep taking these f—— HC jobs,” he said. This wasn’t the first time a coordinator leveled up after riding shotgun with Mayfield. Just a year earlier, Dave Canales turned one season with Baker into the Panthers’ head coaching job. Before that? Nothing but turnover.

Now, Josh Grizzard, a pivotal piece behind the 2024 third-down scheme, has been promoted to replace Coen. All Mayfield can do is hope he sticks around. Or at least, hope he doesn’t get too attached to him right before he leaves. And no, Mayfield wasn’t the only person who opened up on Coen’s departure.

Todd Bowles had a diplomatic take on Liam Coen’s exit

These words for Coen, wholesome, aren’t they? Well, recently, Todd Bowles opened up and gave his take on Coen’s departure. And his words? Not so flowery. He did all he could to remain…adjusted. “He did what was right for him at the time. Obviously, a lot of people in Tampa don’t agree, but… we had to find a new offensive coordinator,” he said.

And Tampa wasn’t exactly thrilled with how Coen dipped. Word is, he verbally agreed to come back on a deal that would’ve made him the highest-paid offensive coordinator in NFL history. Huge. But then? Radio silence. Next thing you know, he’s striking a deal with Jacksonville behind the scenes. It was like getting stood up after planning the perfect date night.

Inside the Bucs building, it got pretty chaotic after his departure. Some execs were so frustrated, they actually floated the idea of firing Todd Bowles just to keep Coen around. That move obviously didn’t happen, but it tells you everything about how much the team valued Coen… and how chaotic things got once he ghosted.

And wait, it gets worse. After the departure, the Jags tried to poach two Bucs assistants: Kevin Carberry and Brian Picucci. But Tampa wasn’t having it. They reportedly shut it down, flat-out refusing to let either coach interview. And yeah, that lit up the rumor mill with whispers of bad blood still simmering. Safe to say, the breakup wasn’t exactly friendly.

Amidst this chaotic departure, Coen surely did earn himself some haters. Some of them are sitting in the Bucs’ front offices. But there’s one person who felt the loss most acutely: Baker Mayfield. To him, Coen will always be someone who changed the trajectory of his career and got the best out of him.