Byron Leftwich-To-Jacksonville Chatter Beginning
December 16th, 2021
Bucs OC Byron Leftwich.
So for those of you who log onto Joe’s little corner of the interwebs here before turning on the morning TV news, checking your e-mails or looking at the top stories in the NFL, Joe has a heartfelt thank you.
And if this is your first media stop today or first check of the outside world this morning, you probably don’t yet know of the huge NFL news that broke just after midnight:
The Jags canned Urban Meyer.
Jags owner Shad Khan announced that offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell will finish as the Jags’ interim head coach. But clearly the Jags will be coach-shopping soon if they haven’t already put out feelers in NFL backchannels.
(For example, Joe remembers hearing from a trusted NFL source that in October 2013, Team Glazer was already deep in talks with Lovie Smith about taking over to replace Greg Schiano.)
One name popping up a lot on social media to succeed Meyer, even by some NFL media types, is Bucs offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich. It makes sense that he’s considered a top candidate.
The Jags drafted Leftwich out of Marshall in 2003 where he was the Jags’ starting quarterback for the first four years of his career.
Leftwich, in his time with the Bucs, has run one of the best offenses in the NFL (if you believe Bucs Super Bowl-winning coach Bucco Bruce Arians) and had a major hand in grooming Mr. Entertainment, America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston, to lead the league in passing with over 5,000 yards. The following season, in less than a year with no organized offseason workouts and no preseason games, Leftwich helped meld Tom Brady into Arians’ offense and produce a Super Bowl-winner.
The Jags, you may have guessed, have a boatload of cash invested in rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who seemed to be barely treading water with Meyer as his coach.
Leftwich’s major demerit on his resumé is his failure with Josh Rosen in Arizona. Joe understands this enrages a lot of Bucs fans but Joe cannot just list Leftwich’s home runs and fully ignore his major strikeout. Nor should anyone.
So the way it seems just by social media chatter, don’t be surprised that you hear in the first week of January (when coaches have a two-week open window to interview with other teams) that Leftwich was in Jacksonville breaking bread with Khan.
Because of Lawrence, the Florida lifestyle, low/no taxes and the Jags likely having a very high draft pick, this Jags’ opening will be very attractive to a lot of coaches.
December 16th, 2021 at 5:06 am
Hi Joe–heartfelt thanks to you dudes too–still love your site–there for me while I’m at my job (nightshift) Anyway this year is most important, let us worry over beating the tails off the saints–I hate them and do not want to lose on prime time! Need to get them to eat dirt! Byron leaving maybe not so good but that be a long time from now!
December 16th, 2021 at 6:07 am
Well, Josh Rosen doesn’t appear to have developed with anyone at this point. You could argue that he was picked way too high.
That aside, I would not be surprised all to see BL interviewing for a HC gig. The Jags make sense on the surface, BUT, will someone want to take that gig? That team is B-A-D!
December 16th, 2021 at 6:07 am
Sometimes, a young quarterback simply sucks. Josh Rosen is one of those. Football passing Jesus wouldn’t be able to squeeze a good quarterback out of that guy, so I don’t see that as a demerit on Leftwich.
December 16th, 2021 at 6:40 am
How much does he really do? The offense lack creativeness, he’s not that good, Bucs could do better.
December 16th, 2021 at 6:48 am
Take our Special Teams coach with you
December 16th, 2021 at 6:51 am
I think this offense would do better running scripted plays in the first half, then letting Brady call his own plays in the no huddle in the second half after he’s figured out what the defense is doing.
December 16th, 2021 at 6:52 am
Leftwich had no success with Rosen and a 30 INT season with Winston…..you can’t possibly tell me he’s the reason Brady is succeeding. If Leftwich’s impact is that great to the extended career of Brady, the Bucs will make a hard push to keep him as OC and future coach for Trask. Keep in mind the Bucs paid Bowles pretty well to hang around as DC…..they can do the same with Leftwich if he’s truly that good. I don’t think he is….when it comes crunch time, Brady takes over the offense and Leftwich takes notes.
December 16th, 2021 at 7:08 am
Boy was Meyer an unmitigated disaster ( and yes I found out about his firing here ( you go Joe…you go! ).
Leftwich should take the opportunity if given the chance. I do doubt his ability to lead an entire team…I’m always happy to be proven wrong. If the Bucs QB was anyone other than Brady…it might be worrisome. Brady might actually take an even bigger role in the offense planning/play calling which would actually be a good thing ( if Leftwich is distracted by potential interviews that is ).
Raheem The Dream would vouch for Leftwich given his “Magic Johnson Smile”…which may or may not be comparable to a “plumber’s smile”.
December 16th, 2021 at 7:19 am
I realize this will be a controversial statement….but Leftwich’s command of the English language is severely lacking…..that’s OK for a player….but a HC….that’s another matter….His pressers are horrendous….
I would be embarrassed for him as a Jags fan. This will affect him going forward.
December 16th, 2021 at 7:21 am
He would be a fool and so would Bowels to leave this situation. Certainly after Tom Brady retires, until then hang on for the greatest coaching ride in your lifetime!
December 16th, 2021 at 7:24 am
Joe, I realize most coaches would love to aspire to become a head coach in the NFL. However there have been a few coordinators throughout the years that love coaching one side of the ball and don’t want the headaches a head coach has to take on. Do we know for certain that Byron wants to be a HC? Has the media ever asked him, or has he ever mentioned he would be interested in the right situation?
December 16th, 2021 at 7:31 am
If Jacksonville wants him, good. Next man up. Also, I don’t see how Leftwich can be blamed for Josh Rosen’s lack of development. Some guys just don’t have it. That’s not a reflection on the Coach.
Is Urban Meyer the biggest bust in the history of the NFL, whether player, coach GM, owner, guy behind the beer counter at the stadium or stripe painter?
December 16th, 2021 at 7:31 am
I’m not a fan of Meyer, but less than one year is not long enough to do anything with a team like the Jags.
December 16th, 2021 at 7:34 am
Well, somebody’s gotta take the job, why not Leftwich?
“You never know until you try.”
Just keep Todd Bowles.
December 16th, 2021 at 7:36 am
The Jags implosion has actually been intriguing Joe. Back in 2017 they went 10-6 under Doug Marone & barely lost the AFC Conference Championship to the Pats 24-20. And yet since then it’s been a steady backslide, to the point where today they’re worse than the Jets & Texans.
What’s bizarre is that this year’s team doesn’t seem to have ANY redeeming qualities. Their offense has produced LESS THAN HALF as many points as our Bucs have (180 pts in 13 games) AND turned it over 25 times on the season so far. Their defense has given up 340 pts in 13 games (the offense’s giveaways probably helped) AND they’ve only generated SIX takeaways on the season (3 of those came in the Jags win against Buffalo interestingly). Obviously COMPLEMENTARY FOOTBALL is not their strong suit.
Meyer deserved to be fired (should never have been hired actually), but their GM should also be circumspect. David Caldwell (2013-2020) was their GM for 8 yrs, and had ONE winning season (2017) in that time. Very impressive. Trent Baalke took over for him this year (after 7 yrs as 49ers GM) & maybe he’ll get it turned around in the future. Probably should start by hiring a high quality coaching staff then drafting or signing some high quality players.
December 16th, 2021 at 7:41 am
omg lefty would be hilarious to watch as the head coach of the jags mess…
the pressers, the 9th grade english, the big top rapper ball caps…
he would be in so deep it would be wild to watch…he would go
2-15 over there…
if he’s smart and not just chasing money, he would slide into a head coach position where all is pretty dialed up already…and that’s a hard find – except possibly in tampa – with an older head coach ready to retire – and all the brady perks…
brady definitely freaked out at least once on tv to a lefty play call…he flailed arms and all to the sidelines…with tainted facial expressions…
it’s weird tho…if say lefty got covid, brady would probably just say i’m taking over the play calling for the one game…and BA would probably be cool with it
December 16th, 2021 at 7:42 am
if you walk onto a sinking ship with no head coaching skills you just might go all titanic
December 16th, 2021 at 7:45 am
Frankly, I could see it happening for many of the reasons stated here. And as fan man said in the christening post, as well as others, Rosen hasn’t exactly panned out anywhere else.
December 16th, 2021 at 7:46 am
… that said, I also agree that him staying would definitely be the best decision he could make for a few reasons. Clearly he’s not the sole reason for Tom’s success as he has been successful his entire career. And obviously the head coach can’t be trusted entirely with his exceedingly high praise as he offers that for all of his assistants. Will be interesting to see what happens this offseason.
December 16th, 2021 at 7:47 am
What evidence is there that the talent on this offense has been elevated by creative play calling? Suddenly the run scheme has perked up –an inspiration of unclear origin three years into Byron’s tenure; last year the passing attack was improved during the bye week, but most have attributed that to Brady’s influence.
Byron’s the guy who famously said he didn’t know why the Bucs weren’t using play action.
December 16th, 2021 at 7:55 am
josh rosen is not a journeyman…
he is a man on a journey…
and that road is to nowhere
December 16th, 2021 at 8:06 am
Clearly he would be sought after with his new found experience working with Brady. Why wouldn’t a team want a star rookie QB want the opportunity to emulate the Goat. If I were Jags, I would go after Josh McDaniels, he woyld be the ideal candidate to mentor Lawrence.
December 16th, 2021 at 8:07 am
lawrence and his fabio hairdo are literally on the brink of being ruined…
#TheBrink
December 16th, 2021 at 8:08 am
Leftwhich gets no credit for Jameis
December 16th, 2021 at 8:08 am
I haven’t watched enough Jags games to know what’s going on there.
Is Trevor Lawrence the real deal? Just from my superficial viewing it appears he is but I’m open to correction. I’ve only seen him in highlight tapes.
If Lawrence is the real deal and not another Jameis the Jags job is appealing.
If he has any chance of busting I’d stay away. It takes too long and too many losses to unload a top draft pick. Again can you can “Famous Jameis”?
December 16th, 2021 at 8:20 am
Rosen might be better than Glennon, that’s about it.
December 16th, 2021 at 8:20 am
Don’t let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya.
As long as Tom Brady comes back we will be fine without byron.
December 16th, 2021 at 8:50 am
Leftfoot hasn’t gotten the offensive side of the ball, so running the whole thing?
I bet he would get a sweet golf cart though.
December 16th, 2021 at 8:51 am
I can easily see hate to say Leftwich bringing Godwin and possibly brate to jax to help out Trevor
December 16th, 2021 at 8:58 am
Joe and fellow Bucs fans,
In order from most to least, how concerned would you be if your friend was pursing a head coaching job with the Jets, Jags, WFT, & Lions?
This could be fun…
December 16th, 2021 at 9:04 am
All the BA & BL bashers on this site are comical. Never played or coached a single down at the professional level, yet crown yourselves as “experts” that have all the right answers. F’ing clowns are what you are.
December 16th, 2021 at 9:17 am
Kev, obviously we havne not of coached at this level but we do have eyes and see what other winning coaches with less talented players are doing to keep their teams in the playoff hunt. Take Vrabel, Titans played the Pat’s and ran all over their high ranking defense without Henry, Jones & Brown their 3 best offensive players. Yes they lost the game but not without a fight. Say what you want but Bucs could be a lot better and it’s coaching holding them back.
December 16th, 2021 at 9:19 am
BL@Jags, great news for ALL. Hope materialized ASAP.
December 16th, 2021 at 9:20 am
Yup. Already wrote a few months ago that if Godwin ever gets out on the open market, the Jags would be dumb not to throw major cash at him.
December 16th, 2021 at 9:28 am
Khan needs to clean house in the front office first.
December 16th, 2021 at 9:33 am
@”..Godwin ever gets out on the open market, the Jags would be dumb not to throw major cash at him…”
—————
Why you should bury yourself in the worst NFL team, that got almost no chance to become decent EVER.
Got to be painful to play there. But who knows, sometimes money is everything.
CG looks like, he is higher IQ than that…. will see.
December 16th, 2021 at 9:36 am
Going to the Jags is a career killer as a HC in the NFL. It’s simply a take the guaranteed money and run proposition, knowing that your next gig is going to be an OC or Assistant coach for the rest of your career.
December 16th, 2021 at 9:48 am
How about hiring Urban Meyers as Offensive Coordinator?
(trolling with a baited hook)
December 16th, 2021 at 9:59 am
Jacksonville is a mess, and it’ll take multiple drafts to clean it up.
Buc4evr has a valid point, if Leftwich gets hired and they continue to lose, he might find himself in a position where he’ll never get another top coaching gig ever again, not in the NFL, not at a top college program.
But then consider that this moment is Leftwich’s peak in terms of visibility and marketability. Once Brady retires, Leftwich will have to develop Trask or some other Rosen Part II.
I’m sure Leftwich is on the short list, and he has relationships with multiple Buc free agents: Godwin, Jensen, and Cappa. All three could help Lawrence recover from Urban Blight.
December 16th, 2021 at 10:00 am
Every day. I received an alert before 12 AM CST about Rural Meyer but in terms of logging into a site it’s JBF first.
I think Trevor Lawrence is already ruined. Even without Rural Meyer that organization was dysfunctional. Meyer was gasoline thrown into a burning building.
December 16th, 2021 at 10:05 am
Tbucsfan. Really??? C’mon.
December 16th, 2021 at 10:36 am
The Jags are going to have a hard time getting a good coach. I am all for Leftwich and Bowles getting HC jobs. Just don’t go there, bad career move . The jags are in the bottom 3 of the NFL and have so many holes it will take years to get out of the slump.
December 16th, 2021 at 10:48 am
“Urban Blight”
Now THAT is funn-nee…
December 16th, 2021 at 11:19 am
BL definitely deserves an interview and should be a top candidate. BA believes in him and his demeanor on the sidelines is all business, good enough for me. Whether he, or anyone else, can clean up yet another mess left by Urban is a tall order though.
December 16th, 2021 at 11:37 am
Tom isn’t gonna let them let Chris hit the market. Less than 0% chance. Losing Lefty wont be ideal but he’s replaceable by people already on staff.
December 16th, 2021 at 11:38 am
Glad you responded, Listnfrmafar. You’re one of clowns I was referring to.
The Bucs are 10-3, tied for the best record in the entire NFL…….but “coaching is holding them back”.
December 16th, 2021 at 12:01 pm
I fully expected the ignorance and veiled racist comments many of you made. I realize it offends your own sense of superiority to acknowledge Coach Leftwich plays an important role in the success of this offense and he is not just Brady’s stand in. Coach Arians has stated it, Brady has stated, the national media sees it, but something in you people won’t allow you to see it. As a true Bucs fan I’d hate to see him go, but as a fan of the Coach and the man, he has more than earned the right to advance his career and do what’s best for his family. I’d also love to see his continued success prove all you haters wrong.
December 16th, 2021 at 12:02 pm
The post below is absolutely offensive trash and should not be allowed…
Tampabaybucfan Says:
December 16th, 2021 at 7:19 am
I realize this will be a controversial statement….but Leftwich’s command of the English language is severely lacking…..that’s OK for a player….but a HC….that’s another matter….His pressers are horrendous….
I would be embarrassed for him as a Jags fan. This will affect him going forward.
December 16th, 2021 at 12:38 pm
Somebody floated the idea of Sean Payton for that Jags job. That makes the most sense too me from both perspectives.
Obviously the Jags would do whatever required to get one of the top 3 or 4 coaches in the league and Payton might have some motivation as well.
Brees is gone…an injured JW…two star tackles having trouble staying the field…Kamara is not getting any younger…the pressure to perform in New Orleans is huge given the bar that Payton has already set.
He could have a fresh start in Jax with far less expectations. I would love to get Payton out of not only our Division but our Conference as well.
December 16th, 2021 at 12:47 pm
And they say nothing good happens after midnight! Jags fans will disagree
December 16th, 2021 at 1:03 pm
GOOD!… Hope He gets the job and moves on…
This offense has carried him as talented as it is and IF the Bucs can bring in one of the better offensive coordinators to compliment these players, They could be even better next year!
December 16th, 2021 at 1:08 pm
Not a valid point. Rosen has been now with 5 different organizations and still he is what he is. Overrated . At best he might be a backup qb. Leftwich did not fail with Josh. Josh failed Josh. He needs to own it. Leftwich is not perfect but don’t blame Josh on him. That’s not on him.
December 16th, 2021 at 1:18 pm
@Tampabaybucfan, I think it will be a great move for Leftwhich and the Jags! It doesn’t matter about one’s dialect when speaking to the media as a HC in the NFL. That can be a direct result of being raised in a particular region. With that being said, it’s definitely a factor when you’re speaking to grown players like Urban Myers failed to do with the jags. If English dialect was a major criteria, there’s a lot of unqualified HC now in the NFL. I believe your underline issue is…..Leftwhich is in a much higher tax bracket than you!! Lets Go Bucs !!
December 16th, 2021 at 1:34 pm
@ Joe and Andrew
Agreed. I just don’t see Godwin coming back. The Jags have a young QB and Godwin would be a huge upgrade to their receiver group.
Look for Godwin to sign a deal similar to what DeAndre Hopkins signed with the Cardinals. 5 yrs. $120 million with $65 million guaranteed…
Like I have been saying we can’t afford him. But no worries we will spend a first or second round pick on another wide receiver and bring back AB and Perriman on cheap one year deals.
December 16th, 2021 at 1:35 pm
What I’d give to have Arians calling the Bucs plays as opposed to this ultra predictable dullard…
Where Leftwich goes, an offense ranked in the high 20s or low 30s is sure to follow, as fans ask why the team is running the wishbone when they thought they were getting the Bucs high flying offense.
Leftwich, left to his own instincts and not having Arians yelling at him and Brady audilbing out of his plays, is going to be an ultra-conservative, ultra-boring HC, and if he can get a really really good defense, could go 9-8 in a very very weak AFC South.
But who knows, I could certainly be wrong. There’s a first for anything.
The only thing that worries me about losing Leftwich is Arians not wanting to be the play caller and probably not wanting to deal with new top coaches at this point in his career.
December 16th, 2021 at 1:53 pm
C2- They will never be proven wrong. They just roll into the next excuse. I love JBF but it definitely collects the dregs of the Buccaneer society.
December 16th, 2021 at 2:12 pm
@ C2
How do you call anyone a “racist” if you don’t really know them?
I am actually a big fan of BL. He has done a great job here and I actually hope he stays. But I also believe he is easily replaceable – especially if Tom Brady returns as our starting QB next year…
Does that make me a racist?
Keep in mind – calling everyone you disagree with a “racist” is not an effective debate tactic.
December 16th, 2021 at 2:34 pm
@ C2 comments:
——-
This sh$t is getting old, and the most important is NOT going to to help BL to become a successful NFL HC.
He is not HC material, he is not coordinator material.
Ask JW how much help he go from him.
He is extremely lucky man, GOAT picked us.
His luck is going to run out as soon as he get separated from TB12.
Simple like that.
December 16th, 2021 at 2:40 pm
Turn off the race baiting Walt Disney owned ESPN…
They are the CNN of sports news.
December 16th, 2021 at 2:41 pm
You are right. Keyboard football experts whowas never good enough to make any team on any level feeling empowered to totally trash a man who has had success as a quarterback on every level and as a coach on a Super Bowl winning team with a top ranked offense. I don’t want to see him go because I’m a Bucs fan and want the band to stay together as long as possible. But I’d love to see history prove the haters wrong. These are the same people who think a QB has to look and speak a certain way. The fact is no matter how well Coach Leftwich performs he will never be able to change those minds.
December 16th, 2021 at 2:47 pm
I love how you people can make blanket statements questioning his intelligence, implying his enunciation of words and diction is an embarrassment that somehow disqualifies him to be a head coach, and completely ignore his track record as a player and coach who actual pro football players and coaches credit for being exceptional at his job. But you get all butt hurt and defensive if I state your opinions have no football basis. I will turn off ESPN and CMN when you turn off Faux “News”, they are lying to you and reinforcing your old worldview from a long gone era you won’t get back
December 16th, 2021 at 2:59 pm
You can’t pull blood from a stone and everyone who’s coached him has failed to turn Rosen into anything other than a bad quarterback. Winston is super talented, but has never found consistency with any coach. 5k yards is nice, but some of his 30 picks in 2019 must be blamed on the coaching. Payton seemed to be turning Winston around by making him a serviceable, game manager type of a quarterback until Winston got hurt and we failed to try that remedy.
I love Arians, but he talks a lot of sh!t, so who knows how much Leftwich does? If it’s like Arians says, then the jaguars would be fools not to go after him. If the Glazers prefer Leftwich over Bowles to take over for Arians one day, he ain’t going nowhere.
December 16th, 2021 at 3:56 pm
let Byron go .. I just can’t see him as Head coach there or here for that matter
December 16th, 2021 at 4:07 pm
As much of a Byron fan and supporter that I am his experience with Rosen is very relevant. Especially for the Jacksonville job where the biggest thing they need from a head coach is to develope Lawrence.
Do you really think Jacksonville would hire Leftwitch without asking him about the Rosen bust? Dont be foolish.
That doesnt mean Leftwitch was soley to blame for Rosen. It wasnt his offense and it wasnt his QB(not his draft decision). But he was coaching the kid…….any responsible orginization would consider what happened in AZ…..especially with an undeveloped prospect at QB.
December 16th, 2021 at 5:17 pm
Everybody who has even done a cursory look into Rosen knows he was ambivalent about football to begin with. It’s not like he’s shown anything to the 4 or is it 5 teams he’s been with. That’s not BL fault he got stuck with a rookie Qb who didn’t even like the game. I trust BA opinion more than the same people who always seem to dislike and question the intelligence of people who look like BL. Especially when it a position of authority like Qb, coach or POTUS.
December 16th, 2021 at 6:39 pm
This would make sense for Leftwich since he’s already familiar with the fa base and the organization
December 16th, 2021 at 11:33 pm
I hope he or Bowles sticks around and becomes the heir apparent to Arians. BTW, a man by his accent or speaking mannerisms has no correlation to prosperity. If he wasn’t good, Arians would not go out of his way to lie and publicly praise him. Ariana is so blunt, he’s even criticized the GOAT at times. I hear BL is a fine and respected man whose only drama was going back and winning a game on a broken leg ! Bucs fans always criticize Offensive Coordinators. The only one fans liked was Dirk Koetter, how did that go. I wish BL a gracious good luck whatever comes his way
December 17th, 2021 at 9:53 pm
let him go…