Following the New York Jets’ 29-27 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Baker Mayfield intended to humiliate Gang Green even further than the 0-3 hole he had put the team in.
Following the Bucs’ win, the former first overall pick in 2018 said Sunday’s win was personal for him and many members of his team.
“I loved it,” Mayfield said of beating the Jets. “Their D-coordinator was the one that cut me in Carolina. A lot of stuff was personal today. Haason Reddick, former Jet. A lot of people.”
It’s true that Steve Wilks was the Carolina Panthers’ interim head coach when they released Mayfield after just a few months.
Now, the Jets’ defensive coordinator has brought forth a new perspective on the event that led to Mayfield’s release.
Steve Wilks, Jets clap back
Speaking to reporters before Thursday’s practice, Wilks explained in detail why Mayfield’s comments didn’t fully represent the situation that transpired in 2022.
“I don’t think an interim coach has much say over personnel,” Wilks said. “If that were the case, I wouldn’t have gotten rid of our best player, Christian McCaffrey.”
Carolina started the season 1-4 before Wilks took over as interim coach that year. After Wilks lost his first game to drop the team to 1-5, the Panthers traded running back Christian McCaffrey to the San Francisco 49ers.
Before that, Matt Rhule was tasked with rebuilding a struggling franchise with Mayfield as the focus. But after posting an 11-27 record through two-plus seasons, Rhule was fired, and Wilks was promoted to stabilize the organization. Carolina went 6-6 under Wilks — saving the Panthers from true humiliation.
Despite the middling success, Wilks was not kept on as the full-time head coach in 2023. Instead, that job went to Frank Reich, who won just a single game before being fired 12 weeks into the following year.
After his stint with the Panthers, Wilks was the defensive coordinator with the San Francisco 49ers and a defensive assistant at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte before landing the Jets’ coordinator job.
Mayfield, meanwhile, shrugged off his blip with the Panthers to save his career with the Los Angeles Rams, and later with the Buccaneers. Following his clarification on who was behind the release of the quarterback over three years ago, Wilks still found a way to pay his respects to the Pro Bowler.
“A lot of respect for Baker,” Wilks said. “He’s a tremendous football player, and he’s doing a hell of a job with those guys down there. So nothing really to say beyond that.”
Mayfield may believe he got revenge over a former head coach, but the Jets’ defensive coordinator has clarified that was never the case.
It won’t matter as the season progresses, but Wilks’ answer is a good reminder that not everything is what it may seem when it comes to NFL locker rooms.
