Kevin Stefanski didn’t take the bait when asked about Baker Mayfield’s recent comments about him.
The new Falcons head coach spoke highly of the Buccaneers quarterback, who took aim at the former Browns head coach last week on social media during his introductory press conference in Atlanta on Tuesday.
“Baker’s somebody that I have a ton of respect for as a player and a person,” Stefanski said. “I love rivalries in sports and obviously the Buccaneers (and) Falcons have a great rivalry. It’s something that I’m excited about, but I would not get into the specifics of those types of things other than to say I have a ton of respect for Baker as a player, as a person. That’s a great team with a great player.”
After Stefanski was hired by the Falcons last Tuesday, Mayfield painted a not-so-pretty picture of his relationship with his former head coach in Cleveland in a post on X.
“Failed is quite the reach pal,” Mayfield wrote in response to Atlanta Journal-Constitution Falcons reporter D. Orlando Ledbetter, who wrote that he had “failed” during his time in Cleveland in a post on X. “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.”
Stefanski and Mayfield, the No. 1 draft pick in 2018, spent two seasons together in Cleveland (2020 and ’21) before the Browns traded the quarterback to the Panthers after the franchise brought in Deshaun Watson in a swap with the Texans.
Mayfield eventually turned his career around when he went to Tampa Bay in 2023, making two Pro Bowls and going 27-24 over three seasons since.
Stefanski went 45-56 in six seasons with the Browns before getting fired by the team earlier this month.
The pair will now get a chance to square off twice a year in the NFC South.
