Why Jaguars HC Liam Coen is thankful he had 'honest conversations' with Buccaneers' Baker Mayfield

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers hired Liam Coen as their offensive coordinator in February 2024, and his work with quarterback Baker Mayfield over a single campaign helped Coen become the Jacksonville Jaguars' new head coach this offseason. 

Coen recently touched upon how having difficult discussions with Mayfield during their 11 months together helped them grow before Coen somewhat controversially headed to Jacksonville.

"We were able to have really good dialogue, which only helps being on the field and having communication, and his leadership goes without saying," Coen said about Mayfield, as shared by the JoeBucsFan website. "…Just being able to have honest conversations. Like we had some real hard, at times, honest conversations that allowed us to, in times of crisis, be ok. Right? In times of adversity, [we’d] have real fluid conversations because it gets heated. Bake’s yelled at me, and I was ok with that."

Mayfield first played under Coen during a brief stint with the Los Angeles Rams late in the 2022 season, and the 29-year-old was directly involved in Tampa Bay's hiring of Coen after Dave Canales left the club to become head coach of the Carolina Panthers in January 2024. While Mayfield subsequently posted the best regular-season numbers, to date, of his career, the 2024 Buccaneers had to win six of their final seven games to clinch the division title and a playoff berth. 

Per Pro Football Reference, Mayfield ended Week 18 of this past campaign ranked third in the NFL with 4,500 passing yards, tied for second with 41 touchdowns through the air, second with a 53.9 percent passing success rate and fourth with a 106.8 passer rating. 

"I can’t thank Baker enough for what we were able to do last year," Coen added about Mayfield. "That was such a cool year, and he was such a big part of that. Maturing off the field, man. … Like he has really been able to grow. He understands the game at a high level. I think he’s a little underappreciated for that aspect of his game."

Some may still question if Mayfield can win the biggest games on the biggest stages -- he's 1-2 in three playoff contests with Tampa Bay -- but it's clear he's quite popular among those who have worked with him during his Buccaneers tenure that began in 2023. If nothing else, his track record suggests that new Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard could receive calls about NFL head-coaching opportunities as soon as next offseason.