Special bond.
Joe can understand if there is a deep, mutual appreciation between Bucs coach Todd Bowles and Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield.
And it isn’t just a coach-quarterback relationship.
Think back to the winter of 2023. Bowles, after his first year with the Bucs, had an 8-9 record despite winning the NFC South. Legendary quarterback Tom Brady had retired. As the Sage of Tampa Bay sports, Ira Kaufman said on his podcast, the Bucs were “peering into the abyss” without a quarterback.
Bowles was on the hot seat given significant fan dissatisfaction and the history of Team Glazer after one of their coaches has back-to-back losing seasons.
So for Bowles it appeared to be untested Kyle Trask (who Bowles didn’t draft) and someone else. That someone else happened to be Mayfield.
Mayfield just came off a solid four starts with the Rams. But partly because of how he left Cleveland (unwanted) and Caroline (mutual agreement to part ways), teams were wary. Aside from the Bucs, only two teams were interested in Mayfield and both teams (Rams, Crows) only wanted him as a backup.
The Bucs, with an opening at quarterback and a coach desperate for wins, had a starting gig available. Bowles hounded Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht to sign Mayfield.
That move may go down in Bucs history as the second-biggest signing the team has made in its 50 years, aside from signing Brady.
What was a marriage of convenience became a blossoming relationship. Mayfield reached the apex of his career (and maybe even better days ahead) and Bowles cemented his gig with the Bucs.
So when Bowles spoke highly of Mayfield yesterday, Joe suspects the emotion from Bowles was more than about football.
> “For me, no,” Bowles answered when asked if there was another quarterback in the NFL he’d rather have. “The other 31 coaches are probably going to stand up here and say the same thing about their quarterback.
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> “I love what he’s doing right now. I love the way he’s playing. I love the space he’s in, mentally and physically getting it done. The mastery of the offense in his second year has really done a lot.
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> “Them understanding and communicating what he likes and doesn’t like, and him throwing to the open guys and making everybody better, has really helped. I’m very proud of that.”
Joe doesn’t think it is hyperbole to suggest that both Bowles and Mayfield saved each other’s careers. Mayfield would have surely hung around as a backup.
Bowles, 61, had gone on record as saying that whenever he leaves his current gig with the Bucs, that will be it for him in the NFL.
So Joe understands why Bowles would be partial to Mayfield as his quarterback.