Wilks refutes Mayfield’s comment that the ex-Panthers interim coach was to blame for his release

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Steve Wilks jabbed back at Baker Mayfield a few days after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback said a win over the New York Jets was a bit “personal.”

Mayfield was asked after the Buccaneers’ 29-27 victory Sunday at Tampa Bay how big it was to give coach Todd Bowles a win over the team for which he coached from 2015-18.

“I loved it. It was also their defensive coordinator (who) cut me in Carolina,” Mayfield said, referring to Wilks, now the Jets’ defensive coordinator who was the Panthers’ interim head coach in 2022. “So, a lot of stuff was personal today.”

In his first news conference since Mayfield’s comments, Wilks praised the quarterback on Friday — before adding his own swipe to try to set the record straight.

“A lot of respect for Baker, tremendous football player, and he’s doing a hell of a job with those guys down there,” Wilks said. “Nothing really to say beyond that. I don’t know how long you’ve been doing this, but I’m sure you’re quite educated on it: I don’t really think an interim coach has that much authority over personnel.

“If that’s the case, I would have never gotten rid of our best player, Christian McCaffrey.”

Wilks stepped in as the Panthers’ interim coach after Matt Rhule was fired amid a 1-4 start. McCaffrey was traded to San Francisco 10 days later. Mayfield, who struggled with consistency early that season, was later replaced as the starter by P.J. Walker and then Sam Darnold — and then as the primary backup by Walker.

“Looking at the body of work the last couple of weeks,” Wilks said at the time, “I felt P.J. has been productive when he was in there.”

Mayfield requested to be released by Carolina, which the team granted on Dec. 5. Mayfield was claimed off waivers by the Los Angeles Rams the next day.

Mayfield went on to rejuvenate his career during a five-game stint with the Rams before signing in March 2023 with the Buccaneers, with whom he has become one of the league’s top performing quarterbacks and a Pro Bowl selection the last two seasons.

Meanwhile, Wilks wasn’t retained by the Panthers that offseason and served as San Francisco’s defensive coordinator in 2023 and then worked as a volunteer advisor at Charlotte last year. He was hired by Aaron Glenn in January to be on his Jets coaching staff.

Wilks’ defense has had an up-and-down first three games as it prepares to face the Dolphins in Miami on Monday night without one of its top playmakers in linebacker Quincy Williams, who’s on injured reserve with a shoulder injury. New York enters ranked 22nd in total yards allowed, 15th in passing defense and 23rd in yards rushing allowed.

“One of the things that we have to do defensively, as you’ve seen we’ve done a lot of great things throughout these first three weeks, but we’ve got to find a way to finish,” Wilks said. “That’s the key thing for us on defense. One touchdown, holding those guys to five field goals, that doesn’t really mean anything when you can’t finish in the end, and that’s where we are right now and that’s our challenge this week.”

The Jets allowed late drives for winning field goals against Aaron Rodgers and Pittsburgh in the Week 1 opener and Mayfield and Tampa Bay last week.

“There’s a lot that goes into play and that starts with me,” Wilks said. “Really putting the guys in position to be successful and then most importantly right here just making the plays when given the opportunity.

“I think, as you evaluate us throughout the first three games, you saw us do some great things from a standpoint of stopping the run, making plays in the red zone and doing a good job on third down. But the key thing is our ability to finish and close the game out.”

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