The NFC South got a little spicier when the Atlanta Falcons hired Kevin Stefanski in January to be their new head coach. That means Stefanski will be facing his former Cleveland Browns quarterback and current Tampa Bay Buccaneers signal-caller Baker Mayfield twice a season.
The two don’t seem to have each other’s number on speed dial, which became even more apparent when Mayfield ripped his former coach following the news of Stefanski landing a job with the Falcons. Mayfield said he felt like “a piece of garbage” when he did not hear from Stefanski after his trade to the Carolina Panthers in 2022.
Whatever the case between the former Browns figures, Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles wants them to settle their feud in a less confrontational manner.
“I think that’s something that they have to figure out from that standpoint since we can’t have a boxing match where they get in the ring with each other and knock each other out,” Bowles told Josina Anderson of the Exhibit News Network.
Bowles also made it clear which side he is on.
“You know we’re going to back our guy Baker, and I’m sure they’re going to back their coach as well. It’s a division game, so it’s already going to be a tough-fought, hard-fought game, so it just adds to it,” added Bowles.
Mayfield toned down his rhetoric about Stefanski when he spoke about his former coach again in February, but it’s his initial reaction that fans seem to remember more.
Expect Mayfield to have all the motivation he needs to beat Atlanta in 2026, especially in their first meeting.
