It’s been a few months since the whole Liam Coen situation unfolded, and it’s starting to feel like the dust has finally settled. The way things went down still stings, but Todd Bowles has seemingly moved on and it sounds like Coen is starting to calm down as well.
Even Jason Licht has decided to take the high road when asked about Coen ghosting the team to sneakily take the Jacksonville Jaguars head coaching job, which is an indication that everyone is now focused on the future.
Coen, however, is taking at least one more look into the past. Rather than throw a jab at the Bucs, he took time to speak fondly of his relationship with Baker Mayfield and set the record straight about how he feels about his time spent in Tampa Bay.
Liam Coen sets the record straight with some serious praise for Baker Mayfield
In a somewhat cathartic moment, Coen admitted that there were times Baker yelled at him either on the sideline or behind-the-scenes and it was something he appreciated about the quaterback’s approach to the game.
“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,” Coen said, via JoeBucsFan.
Coen praised Baker’s ability to understand the game at a high level, and credited him with being a big reason why everyone is in the position they are now. For as good as Coen was as the team’s offensive coordinator last season, he likely doesn’t get a shot at being a head coach unless Baker expertly executed his scheme — which is something Coen doesn’t shy away from admitting.
“I can’t thank Baker enough for what we were able to do last year. That was such a cool year, and he was such a big part of that,” Coen said. “He understands the game at a high level. I think he’s a little underappreciated for that aspect of his game. We were able to have really good dialogue, which only helps being on the field and having communication, and his leadership goes without saying.”
Stuff like this continues to serve as a reminder of how special Baker is and how important he is to the team’s success. Just like how Coen doesn’t rise to become a head coach after just one season as a coordinator in Tampa Bay, the team isn’t as consistently successful as it has been without Baker.
He’s been a key piece of so many good things, up to and including being so great that he’s helping heal some wounds and potentially bridge gaps. We’ll see what happens moving forward, but it’s clear that Baker remains one of the most special players in the league and leaves the right impression on everyone who crosses paths with him.
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