Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Liam Coen: Baker Mayfield is an "Igniter"

New Bucs OC Liam Coen saw the difference QB Baker Mayfield made in a short stint with the Rams in 2022 and considered the chance to work with Mayfield again, if a new contract is worked out, to be a draw in coming to Tampa

Feb 06, 2024 at 05:10 PM

Scott Smith

Senior Writer/Editor

In 2022, Liam Coen was in his second stint the Sean McVay's Los Angeles Rams, serving as the nominal offensive coordinator if not the play-caller, as McVay handles those duties. Coen had also been on McVay's staff from 2018-20, though his move to become the offensive coordinator and play-caller at Kentucky in 2021 meant he watched the acquisition of Matthew Stafford and the Rams' subsequent run to the Super Bowl championship from afar.

The Rams obviously had high hopes for a successful defense of their championship in 2022, but injuries, particularly to Stafford and all-star wideout Cooper Kupp, sent the offense into array. Three different quarterbacks had made starts by the time Baker Mayfield arrived as a waiver claim from the Carolina Panthers in early December. The vibes were not great for the Rams at the tail end of a six-game losing streak that dropped them out of contention.

Mayfield quickly changed the mood.

"Man, Baker as you guys know, he's an igniter," said Coen on Tuesday as he was formally introduced as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' new offensive coordinator. "And that's the type of guy you want to be around. He came into our organization at a really difficult time, a time that we weren't having a lot of fun. And he came and made football fun for a lot of people at that time. He came in and made football competitive again at practice. He's jawing at Jalen Ramsey and they're going at it. That was something that we hadn't felt in a little while. It was a tough year."

Mayfield made an immediate impact on the field. He took over one drive into a Thursday night game against Las Vegas just two days after he arrived in Los Angeles and engineered an impressive game-winning drive at the end of a 17-16 Rams victory. Mayfield started the last four games and notched another win against Denver in a 51-14 drubbing.

As much as he had impressed his new teammates, the Rams expected Stafford to be back under center in 2023 and Mayfield hit free agency for the first time in his career. He signed a one-year 'prove-it' deal with the Buccaneers and responded with the best season of his career, hitting career highs in passing yadrs (4,044) and touchdown passes (28), leading the Bucs to a NFC South title and throwing for nearly 700 yards and six touchdown passes in two postseason contests. His Comeback Player of the Year-worthy season played no small role in first-year Offensive Coordinator Dave Canales getting a well-deserved interview for the Carolina Panthers' head coaching job.

Canales got that job and the Bucs were looking for a new coordinator for the second year in a row. They identified Coen as a strong candidate early but interviewed a total of seven people before hitting on the man Head Coach Todd Bowles called "the best fit for what we want to do on offense." For Coen, the chance to work with Mayfield for a longer period of time was a big attraction in his return to the NFL.

"The opportunity to be around him, potentially, every day, to coach a guy that's as competitive as he is, that has that moxie…I mean, that's fun," said Coen. "You can't coach that. And when a guy has that ability and the ability to communicate with others, that's something that I really wanted to be around. It was very intriguing for us."

Coen uses the modifier of "potentially" working with Mayfield in Tampa because Mayfield can become a free agent again in March and obviously would draw more interest this time. Coen knows that there is a business side to the situation, and there's no guarantee Mayfield will stay. He is, however, hopeful.

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"I want him to be here," said Coen. "It's probably more 'want' than 'know.' He's obvious a reason that I'm here. That's real. But at the end of the day, this is going to be collaborative, hopefully. I think he wants to be here but we know it's a long way to go. It's a long way to go, and I want him to be here. I think he wants to be here, he wants to work with me and do this with Coach [Bowles] and the organization. He has had nothing but great things to say about this place, so hopefully that can get done."

In reviewing tape of the Bucs' 2023 season, Coen noted that the team and the offense went through some lulls at times but that Mayfield was often able to generate a two-minute touchdown drive when the Bucs needed one badly. That was true at the end of a critical win in Atlanta in December, and before halftime of a hard-fought Divisional Playoff game in Detroit. Coen said he could see from the tape the buy-in that Mayfield had earned from his teammates.

"You can feel it," he said. "You can feel it when you watch the tape, when he runs around and makes some plays. You saw it the other day with his arm – it just doesn't fatigue. He's gotta rip. There's definitely pieces, and for them to go and win the division, win a playoff game and be the 32nd-ranked rush offense in the NFL – there's a lot of room for growth and that's why this is so intriguing."

Coen thinks Mayfield can get even better by continuing to grow his command of the offense and his ability to glean tips and tells from the defense and get his team into favorable looks. He noted that most of the plays in McVay's offense are "on a can," meaning they have the initial call on the front of the can and a companion audible on the back and the quarterback has a lot of autonomy on which to go with. Coen doesn't know how long it would take for the Bucs to be able to do that as an offense, but he thinks Mayfield and company can get there.

"I still believe that he has a lot of room to grow, especially this piece," said Coen, tapping the side of his head. "I think it's something that he doesn't get enough credit for, honestly, his study habits, his work habits, his preparation. And I think he wants more. I mean, he wants more…they want more as an offense. What's nice is it helps you get into better looks. … To be able to get us into the best looks possible, that's where I also think he can continue to grow."

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TAMPA, FL - February 06, 2024 - Offensive Coordinator Liam Coen of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and his wife, Ashley, during Coen's first day at AdventHealth Training Center. Photo By Jason Turner/Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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TAMPA, FL - February 06, 2024 - Offensive Coordinator Liam Coen of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers gets mic'd up during Coen's first day at AdventHealth Training Center. Photo By Jason Turner/Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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TAMPA, FL - February 06, 2024 - Offensive Coordinator Liam Coen of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during his first day at AdventHealth Training Center. Photo By Jason Turner/Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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TAMPA, FL - February 06, 2024 - Offensive Coordinator Liam Coen of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Assistant Equipment Manager Nick Schmetzer during Coen's first day at AdventHealth Training Center. Photo By Jason Turner/Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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TAMPA, FL - February 06, 2024 - Wide Receiver Chris Godwin #14 and Offensive Coordinator Liam Coen of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during Coen's first day at AdventHealth Training Center. Photo By Jason Turner/Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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TAMPA, FL - February 06, 2024 - Defensive Lineman Greg Gaines #96 and Offensive Coordinator Liam Coen of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during Coen's first day at AdventHealth Training Center. Photo By Jason Turner/Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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TAMPA, FL - February 06, 2024 - Offensive Coordinator Liam Coen of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Director of Football Operations Shelton Quarles during Coen's first day at AdventHealth Training Center. Photo By Jason Turner/Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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TAMPA, FL - February 06, 2024 - Running Back Rachaad White #1 and Offensive Coordinator Liam Coen of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during Coen's first day at AdventHealth Training Center. Photo By Jason Turner/Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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TAMPA, FL - February 06, 2024 - Quarterback Baker Mayfield #6 and Offensive Coordinator Liam Coen of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during Coen's first day at AdventHealth Training Center. Photo By Jason Turner/Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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TAMPA, FL - February 06, 2024 - Offensive Coordinator Liam Coen of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers sees his office for the first time during his first day at AdventHealth Training Center. Photo By Jason Turner/Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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TAMPA, FL - February 06, 2024 - Offensive Coordinator Liam Coen of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signs his contract during Coen's first day at AdventHealth Training Center. Photo By Kyle Zedaker/Tampa Bay Buccaneers