There aren’t enough guesses in the world for you to figure out who Todd Bowles’ spirit animal is. But Bowles himself confirmed that, though it’s a drastic 180 from his perceived personality, he is more like Baker Mayfield than any of us ever would have anticipated. In a way, I kind of believe him. It would confirm why the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were willing to give him a shot and eventually extend him.
“If I was an outward personality, Baker would be the guy I would probably be,” Bowles said during an appearance on the Pewter Report. “We have more in common than you really think, he just shows it a little more.”
Mayfield never got that kind of love in Cleveland. Well at least, if he did from the coaching staff, they weren’t nearly as outward about it as Bowles is. The quarterback-coach relationship is key for success. That could be why the Browns were so quick to give up on Mayfield after he did what no quarterback had done in nearly two decades, which was win a playoff game.
It goes to show Tampa Bay has their guy in Mayfield and proves that he’s hanging around the Bucs organization for the long haul; or at least as long as Bowles is there.
Todd Bowles, Baker Mayfield’s unlikely bond key in former first overall pick's success
Mayfield joined the list of former top quarterbacks in their draft class that were abandoned by the team that drafted them and searching for redemption. Sam Darnold is the most recent to turn things around for himself. But before him, it was Mayfield.
But Tampa Bay wasn’t the first team to get a shot at bringing the best out of Mayfield. He had to hop around to Carolina and the Los Angeles Rams before the Bucs were willing to give him a shot. And it paid off. Maybe Bowles saw parts of himself in Mayfield and that’s why he wanted the embattled quarterback.
Since his arrival in Tampa Bay, Mayfield has led the Bucs to the playoffs each of his first two seasons. But there’s more than just playoff appearances, though Mayfield is still searching for his first playoff win since leaving Cleveland. Mayfield has looked like the top quarterback he was supposed to be out of Oklahoma since getting to Tampa Bay.
In the 2024 season, he was third in the NFL in total passing yards with 4,500 and he had 41 passing touchdowns and 16 interceptions. Statistically, it was the best season in his NFL career. And in his first two seasons in Tampa Bay, he’s eclipsed 4,000 passing yards in each season, the only times he’s had 4,000 or more passing yards in the NFL. He also had a career high 378 rushing yards in 2024.
Simply put, Mayfield’s rise to NFL relevancy again coincides with being united with Bowles. For a while, maybe it was a coincidence that happens. But Bowles shed light on the fact that maybe seeing himself in Mayfield helped them create a bond that’s conducive to having a successful team.