Seven days after Baker Mayfield took a shot at his former coach Kevin Stefanski, the newly hired Atlanta Falcons head coach addressed the comments during his introductory press conference. Stefanski made it clear there’s no animosity on his end.

“Baker’s somebody that I have a ton of respect for as a player and a person,” Stefanski stated. “I love rivalries in sports, and obviously, Buccaneers-Falcons have a great rivalry.”

“It’s something I’m excited about. But I would not get into the specifics of those type 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,” he continued.

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Mayfield is frustrated over his controversial Cleveland exit. Last week, the Bucs signal-caller tweeted,

“Failed is quite the reach pal. 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.”

Their relationship ended on sour terms, but the Stefanski-Mayfield pairing delivered results. In 2020,the Browns went 11-5 and ended a 26-year playoff drought with a wild-card win over Pittsburgh.

Now, with Stefanski in Atlanta and Mayfield thriving in Tampa Bay, the former partners are set to face each other twice a season in the NFC South.