Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield is focusing on his current coaches as opposed to a rumored one for the future … who is also part of his past.
Mayfield was asked about Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley on Wednesday, two days removed from the Browns firing head coach Hue Jackson and offensive coordinator Todd Haley and replacing them with Gregg Williams and Freddie Kitchens, respectively.
“He’s doing his thing and I’m doing mine. I’m not worried about that,” the 23-year-old Mayfield said of Riley, who helped guide the former to the Heisman Trophy last season.
“Coach Williams is our head guy right now, Freddie is our offensive coordinator, and we need to roll with that. We have a team that’s capable of winning in this locker room right now so we need to trust them.”
Riley coached Mayfield for three seasons in college: two as offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach and one as head coach.
The 35-year-old Riley, however, came out shortly after the Browns’ decision to part ways with Jackson and Haley on Monday to say that he’s not interested in coaching in the NFL — at the moment.
“The truth is for me, I love Oklahoma. I love coaching here,” Riley said in a news conference Monday. “I love coaching college football. I certainly don’t have that itch right now.”
Right now?
“I don’t know that I ever will,” Riley said. “But I’m never going to be a guy that stands up here and says ‘no way, no how’ with any of these things ever happening. I don’t know that. But I know right now I could care less about the NFL.”
Mayfield, who was the top overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft, has completed 130 of 223 passes for 1,471 yards with eight touchdowns and six interceptions this season. He has been sacked 20 times in the six games he has played for the Browns (2-5-1), who will host the Kansas City Chiefs (7-1) on Sunday (1 p.m. ET).