Byron Leftwich Doesn’t Want Head Coach Questions
April 19th, 2021
Byron Leftwich seems to know he is a young offensive coordinator with one of the sweetest gigs in the NFL.
Yeah, 41-year-old Leftwich wants to be a head coach, but last night Leftwich delivered a message that he will not in the business of trumpeting a desire to leave Tampa.
“I’m telling you guys now, I’m not going to be answering that question all year, right? I am happy to be here with my group of guys that I work with,” Leftwich told assembled media last night at a Bruce Arians Foundation dinner.
“I am not trying to leave this group who I have. I enjoy working with this group of men. It’s an excellent group of men to come to work [with] every day. The way they come to work, as a coach, you beg and wish that you can coach guys like this. So I’m in no rush to leave this group of men.”
It’s been rather obvious to Joe that Leftwich is disinterested in selling himself through the media as a head coach candidate. And now Leftwich has made that official.
Leftwich didn’t even make the rounds to various national media outlets following the Bucs’ Super Bowl win, whereas his defensive counterpart, Todd Bowles, did just that.
April 19th, 2021 at 10:53 am
Despite the increase in salary and status the grass is not always greener on the other side.
April 19th, 2021 at 11:00 am
@Durango95 you right about that. There’s a lot more BS responsibilities that come with the HC job and a lot less actual coaching football.
April 19th, 2021 at 11:03 am
His likely opportunities are/were dysfunctional organizations going through rebuilds where your success rate is minimal. I can all see the Bucs giving Leftwich the knod in a few yrs, particularly if he’s been grooming a young QB.
April 19th, 2021 at 11:04 am
I think he wants the job here after BA retires.
April 19th, 2021 at 11:05 am
Has Byron figured out why the Bucs didn’t use more play-action last season?
April 19th, 2021 at 11:13 am
I personally don’t think BL is head coaching material. His sweet spot is OC. I don’t think he has the demeanor. I think he’s a fantastic person, but you need a bunch of ass h#$@ in you to be a head coach. It was brady who altered the offense. BL and BA were not using him properly. It was alot of deep out breaking routes. Brady can’t make those throws consistently, and it was hurting his play. They also were not using motion, which brady uses to help diagnose the defense. All of that mostly came after the bye week. I do give them credit for swallowing pride and letting brady curtail the offense
April 19th, 2021 at 11:19 am
Red Mirage agreed & the bucs brass will have to decide between him and Bowles & as stated above usually a new coach is going to a trainwreck of a team, off the top of my head the teams that MAY be in the market next year are Dolphins, Lions, Texans, Raiders, Cards, maybe Steelers & I know 2 of those teams just hired a coach this year but its the NFL…Leftwich would be better off just kicking for 3
April 19th, 2021 at 11:26 am
Doubt BL gets any serious looks until he proves that the Bucs team success is not solely based on Tom Brady…Once he is able to prove he can develop a young QB & win games…Until then, he’ll just get interviews to fulfill the diversity stipulation in the Rooney Rule.
I’d be willing to bet Todd Bowles will be tagged as BA’s replacement, if BA walks back into retirement after 2021 & has anything say in the matter.
April 19th, 2021 at 11:28 am
You’re an offensive coordinator working with Bruce Arians and Tom Brady. Why would you want to go anywhere else?
April 19th, 2021 at 12:08 pm
He’s a lucky bozo imo
April 19th, 2021 at 12:21 pm
@medicated Pete “a lucky bozo” huh? And I’m sure you are much more qualified. Just think, if you had been calling plays then maybe we would have won the Super Bowl. What could have been…
April 19th, 2021 at 12:30 pm
Much better OC than he was a QB🤔
April 19th, 2021 at 12:33 pm
Not saying that BL is head coach material or not.
I am a huge Tom Brady fan and think he is the number one reason we won the super bowl.
But those fans that act like Leftwich is a bozo and had little to do with winning the Superbowl just do not understand pro football. You cannot win at the highest level of football with out excellent coaching. History shows that — both in the past and recent history.
Like got to be a little of an aaa…hole to be a head coach. Absurd. Tell that to George Seifert, Tom Landry, Andy Reid, Tony Dungy.
“Our goal was to win, to win a Super Bowl, but also to win in the right way, to be role models to our community…” Tony Dungy “…You want to be consistent… you want people to grow and become better football players and better men. If we can win a few more Super Bowls while doing that, it will be even better.”
I heard same fans in Tampa complain that Torts is a better coach than Jon Cooper. Just nonsense from fans that think they can pigeon hole coaches and players.
April 19th, 2021 at 12:54 pm
I think he’s the next head coach of the Bucs. That’s why BA is now interested in drafting a QB. He wants his heir to have a solid foundation after Brady leaves.
April 19th, 2021 at 1:06 pm
If we win the SB or even get in it, some team is going to offer him a shltload of money.
April 19th, 2021 at 1:28 pm
I agree with most. I think it’s likely he’s the Buc’s next HC. Only if Arians decides to stick it out for, say, another 5 years, would he consider moving on.
April 19th, 2021 at 1:30 pm
Would you rather: jump to dysfunction / a rebuild, OR have 2 more shots at a ring with the Goat? In 2 more years of OC for Brady, his resume will sell itself and he knows it.
Ask those Marshal linemen who carried him down the field with a broken leg if BL has what it takes. The guy has a ring as a player (backup w Steelers in 2008/09) and as an OC.
Not HC material. MANY coaches have been hired on much, much less in the NFL!
April 19th, 2021 at 2:11 pm
As a player and now coach, he knows you don’t get a chance to win the whole thing very often. I like his mentality. Focus on the next Super Bowl. Good things will come on there own.
April 19th, 2021 at 2:17 pm
@geno711: speaking of Jon Coopper, WTF is going on with the Bolts? They are playing really poorly and crashing & burning!
………
Maybe Leftwich knows he’s not quite ready yet to take over a struggling program sans top talent and turn it around.
Not every COO or CFO has the chops to become the CEO.
April 19th, 2021 at 3:05 pm
BL will be our next HC…
GO BUCS!!!
April 19th, 2021 at 4:29 pm
Byron/Bowles is a solid combination that Team Glazer should look into keeping intact. Leftwich still has a lot to learn about running a team, and who knows how much input he has in order to get credit for the success. Bowles has the experience and has demonstrated the ability to develop the players on his side of the ball, but doesnt move the needle for me. I like both of these guys as my coordinators with a figurehead doing the day to day stuff. Still appreciating how the stars have aligned themselves so far though.
April 19th, 2021 at 4:40 pm
Leftwich is smart. He’s in a non stress position this year and he still has things to learn from BA and Brady and just the experience of working with a team this talented.
Last year BL got his Masters this year it will be his PhD. Plenty of time left before HC and he may be looking at the Bucs. If Bowles leaves BL becomes the heir apparent.
April 19th, 2021 at 6:56 pm
I’d like to see Byron & Bowles as Co-head coach when BA leaves. Bryon doesn’t seem like much of a communicator in interviews & post-game with the media but he must be much better with the players.
April 19th, 2021 at 10:27 pm
Depth,depth,depth. We were fortunate last year when it came to long-term injuries. We need more depth this year to ensure success. No way we’ll win w/o TB so drafting/trading for a qb would be a futile gesture, but backups for the front seven are badly needed especially on the EDGE.
April 19th, 2021 at 11:09 pm
I don’t know how long BA wants to coach but it would be nice if they all stuck around a couple years. If not, maybe one of them takes over as coach and the other one stays as coordinator