The NFC South just got a lot more personal. Baker Mayfield ignited a dormant rivalry recently after a reporter suggested he had failed during his tenure in Cleveland. He didn’t just defend his record; he took a direct aim at Kevin Stefanski, who happens to be the new head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. Finally, Stefanski responded. 

Mayfield claimed on social media that he was “Still waiting on a text/call from him after I got shipped off like a piece of garbage” by his former team under Stefanski’s reign. 

Yet, the head coach remained cool. 

“Baker is someone I have a lot of respect for as a player and as a person,” said Stefanski when asked about Mayfield’s tweet. “I won’t get into the specifics of those types of things.”

The whole saga erupted when a Falcons writer, D. Orlando Ledbetter, wrote a piece on Stefanski’s tenure in Cleveland that concluded with the team firing him on January 5. When Ledbetter wrote Stefanski had a “dumpster fire” in the Browns, in terms of the quarterback room, his choices of words didn’t sit well with Tampa Bay signal caller. 

One of the quarterbacks that Stefanski coached in Cleveland was Mayfield. While the quarterback’s stint with the Browns cannot be labelled as “ideal,” he did lead the team to the playoffs in ‘20. It was the year the Browns hired Stefanski. Two seasons later, with the team heavily pursuing Deshaun Watson, Mayfield was left with no choice but request a trade. 

Trade happened in July, and Mayfield found himself in the Carolina Panthers. It’s been four seasons since, but Stefanski never contacted Mayfield again — something the Bucs QB didn’t mind pointing out.  

“Still waiting on a text/call from him after I got shipped off like a piece of garbage,” he wrote. “Can’t wait to see you twice a year, Coach.”

Since leaving the Browns, Mayfield encountered them all but once: 2022. It was before he found a home in Tampa Bay, and the game resulted in the Browns’ feat at 26-24 against the Panthers. Since then, there hasn’t been a game in which Mayfield encountered his former team for true revenge.  

But now, Stefanski found a home in Atlanta. This means the Mayfield-led Bucs will be facing Stefanski’s Falcons twice a year. 

And the NFC South followers know how “great” a rivalry the Falcons and the Bucs have. That’s something the head coach relishes. 

“I love rivalries,” he said at his Introductory press conference. “Obviously Buccaneers and Falcons have a great rivalry and is something I’m excited about.”

What’s even more interesting is that the Bucs front office is doubling down in this rivalry. Before Stefanski could even conduct his first meeting with the coaching staff, they had poached a member of his new clan. 

Soon, Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson will be dodging Buccaneers red as the front office has finalized a deal with him. He’ll be replacing former OC Josh Grizzard. 

For now, Stefanski has handled the OC situation by reuniting with his former Offensive Coordinator, Tommy Rees. But he isn’t ready to discuss his plans further. 

Kevin Stefanski dodged looming Kirk Cousins decision

There’s no question regarding the offensive play calling in Atlanta, as the new head coach cleared that he’s “more than comfortable” delegating the responsibility to Rees. However, the bigger question is the quarterback situation. 

The Falcons’ quarterback room has been chaotic for some time now. In ‘24, they drafted Michael Penix Jr. with the hope of seeing him as the franchise quarterback. But things went south in ‘25, and he ended up sustaining a season-ending injury. 

Veteran Kirk Cousins covered for him, finishing with 1,721 passing yards, 10 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions. With his contract with the Falcons about to conclude in March, his “future” has become a looming question. But Stefanski refused to discuss it. 

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“Obviously, I have a previous relationship with Kirk,” the head coach noted. “But I don’t know if it’s the time yet to talk about all the positions and those types of things. Those types of conversations will come in due time.”

For now, Cousins has agreed to restructure his contract with the Falcons. The change doesn’t touch any of the guaranteed money he’s already been promised, but it shifts when he gets paid and how it hits the team’s budget. 

His base salary has been slashed from $35 million down to just $2.1 million, giving the Falcons some much-needed “breathing room” under the salary cap at the moment. The $32.9 million that was cut from ‘26 was moved to his ‘27 pay. This means his ’27 pay now totals a massive $67.9 million, set to become fully guaranteed on March 13 this year.