It’s been a long time since Baker Mayfield played for Kevin Stefanski. But Mayfield has a long memory and no fondness for his former coach.
The Browns fired Stefanski after the close of yet another disappointing campaign this year. However, as predicted, he wasn’t on the market long. The Atlanta Falcons hired him this week to reset their offense and, in particular, franchise quarterback Michael Penix Jr.
The move brings Stefanski to the NFC South, the stomping grounds of his former quarterback in Cleveland, Baker Mayfield.
Given the dysfunction that plagued Cleveland during Stefanski’s tenure, particularly at the quarterback position, some optimism has set in among Falcons fans that a situation at least relatively more stable in Atlanta could lead to more offensive success.
It was with this hope in mind that the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s D. Orlando Ledbetter penned the following critique of the Browns’ QB situation during Stefanski’s time in Cleveland.
“#Falcons’ Kevin Stefanski had a dumpster fire at quarterback in Cleveland — Baker Mayfield and Deshaun Watson failed, which started a chain reaction to 11 other starters. QB Shedeur Sanders closed out last season with seven starts,” Ledbetter wrote.
As can be seen in the above post, Ledbetter’s appraisal of Mayfield’s time in Cleveland as a “failure” was so objectionable that fans pounced and attached a community note to the tweet, noting Mayfield’s 11-5 record as a starter in 2020 and the fact that he led the Browns to what was only their second playoff berth in nearly 20 years.
The fans weren’t the only ones to see Ledbetter’s post and take exception to it. Mayfield himself saw the uncharitable description of his time with the Browns and captioned it, taking a shot at Ledbetter and his former coach.
“Failed is quite the reach, pal,” Mayfield wrote. “Still waiting on a text/call from him after I got shipped off like a piece of garbage. Can’t wait to see you twice a year, Coach.”
To retrace the steps of Mayfield’s time with and exit from the Browns, he led the team to the playoffs in 2020 and just narrowly missed repeating the feat in 2021. Towards the end of 2021, Mayfield suffered a knee contusion and was shut down for the remainder of the season. Mayfield’s return to Cleveland was by no means certain. However, it was generally expected that he would return.
That didn’t happen, though, as the Browns entered into a shocking and massive trade for then-disgruntled Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, and Mayfield was out.
Watson, plagued by controversy and legal troubles off the field and injuries on the field, never caught on in Cleveland, and the deal is regarded as the worst personnel move in NFL history. Mayfield bounced around for a couple of years before landing in Tampa, where he has regained much of his old form and led the Bucs to a playoff berth.
Now, with the animosity on Mayfield’s part clearly evident, those Buccaneers-Falcons games next year have just become must-see TV.
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