Buccaneers HC Todd Bowles addresses QB Baker Mayfield losing his OC

During an appearance on "The Rich Eisen Show," Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles seemed to downplay what losing former offensive coordinator Dave Canales will mean for quarterback Baker Mayfield this coming season. 

"I would say that Dave helped Baker as much as Baker helped Dave," Bowles explained, per the JoeBucsFan website. "It was a two-way street from that standpoint. Dave put him in some positions and Baker bailed Dave out some. So I thought it was a good collaboration." 

In their one season working together, Canales helped Mayfield become a Comeback Player of the Year candidate, with the signal-caller ultimately earning a new three-year contract from the Buccaneers. Canales left Tampa Bay this past winter to become head coach of the Carolina Panthers.

"I’m happy Dave got the [Carolina] job but we still have Baker and we’re still confident in him," Bowles insisted. "And with Liam Coen coming in, we feel we have some continuity there." 

It's hardly a secret that Mayfield played a big part in the Buccaneers hiring Coen as Canales' replacement. Mayfield played under Coen when both were with the Los Angeles Rams late in the 2022 season. 

"He brings the team in," Bowles said about what Mayfield means to Tampa Bay. "He gives them hope because he always talks to [offensive and defensive players] and when he leads on the field you want to listen because he’s the same every day, as far as trying to win every play." 

According to Pro Football Reference, Mayfield ended the 2023 regular season ranked 12th in the league among qualified quarterbacks with a 94.6 passer rating. He also finished seventh with 28 touchdown passes and ninth with 4,044 passing yards. 

"He tries to win in practice," Bowles added about Mayfield. "The way he prepares, he tries to win. And that gave us a different leadership when we had people from the past, when we had [Tom Brady] and those guys. Because Tom was already established; Baker wasn’t established, at least not here from a credential standpoint. So, it was important that he came in to be himself and those guys embraced him that way, and that’s how they saw him." 

As of Friday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Buccaneers at +300 betting odds to claim the NFC South division title for the 2024 season. The Atlanta Falcons topped the list at -130 odds.