Todd Bowles Passes On Endorsing Byron Leftwich For 2023
January 17th, 2023
Byron Leftwich
The door was flung wide open for head coach Todd Bowles at his year-ender news conference this afternoon.
Bowles was asked if there’s been a decision yet on whether to fire Byron Leftwich as offensive coordinator.
Bowles didn’t say Leftwich is his guy. He didn’t praise the job Leftwich did. The head coach only responded by saying there has been no decision on Leftwich’s future with Tampa Bay and his job performance would be evaluated this week. “I don’t have any assessment right now,” Bowles said of Leftwich.
Joe found that exchange quite telling in a Grim Reaper kind of way.
Bowles was asked about staff changes in general and said he’ll meet with coaches at the end of the week.
At no time did Bowles take a moment to praise his coaching staff. That was in stark contrast to Leftwich patting himself (and others) on the back last week.
Joe is confident that pat on the back will soon become a swift kick in the ass.
January 17th, 2023 at 4:34 pm
Good. Then Licht can fire Bowles and then the Glazers can fire Licht. It’s all coming together.
January 17th, 2023 at 4:34 pm
Hit me up when they both are fired
January 17th, 2023 at 4:35 pm
The GBoyz learned from Father Dungy with his guideline of not speaking out on serious matters for a few days, I don’t remember how long a 2-3 days.
Anxious waiting for the space for rent sign to go up.
January 17th, 2023 at 4:38 pm
The sad thing is I have zero faith in who Bowles would hire to replace him. Fire them both. Hire an offensive Head Coach.
January 17th, 2023 at 4:38 pm
Good. It was a lot of fun rooting for the 0-16 Bucs in the beginning. Cheap Tix in the parking lot for less than 1/2 price from the suckers that had to buy 2 year season tix. Owners will put this thing on the market for sale as soon as they get rid of Manchester is a possible.
January 17th, 2023 at 4:39 pm
Trapdoor both.
January 17th, 2023 at 4:40 pm
Until ahole Brady is outta here, we have no idea if Bowles is a HC or not. And Leftwich? Whatever.
January 17th, 2023 at 4:40 pm
HC !
I hope you are correct about selling the team. I have always had the Glazers back, they have been good owners in a ham handed way.
January 17th, 2023 at 4:41 pm
Maybe I remember things differently but didn’t the Owners say when they fired Gruden that they were listening to the fans?
I’m certain WAY MORE fans want Bowles gone ASAP far more than wanted Gruden gone…
Bowles is useless as a HC and gives the team 0 confidence at winning next season!
January 17th, 2023 at 4:42 pm
Do we need to break out the Billboards?
Fire both these losers and I wouldn’t be sad to see Jason Licht go with them.
This franchise needs a complete overhaul.
From Super Bowl champs to irrelevant apathy in less than two years.
Sad.
January 17th, 2023 at 4:43 pm
SB I have never seen a team fire all the assistants and keep the Head Clown. It does not make sense and would be a first i think.
January 17th, 2023 at 4:45 pm
Out with the old in with the new !
Kinda like the vacuum cleaner graphic in the Ole Sombrero on the lightbulb “Jumbotron”
State Vacuum or something like that.
January 17th, 2023 at 4:47 pm
Has Leftwich🤡 been fired yet?
January 17th, 2023 at 4:47 pm
Giselle to Tom “Now, what more do you have to prove? You abandoned your family for a losing season & a playoff drubbing.”
Tom to Giselle. “No, actually it was for a younger woman like most rich men do….I just haven’t introduced her yet”
January 17th, 2023 at 4:49 pm
Bowles needs to go work under McVay or shanahan….see some different schemes, creativity, etc. He play calls like he’s living through his QBs…..pass, pass, pass, pass, pass. I don’t know if he’s ever going to be anything more than an assistant OC.
January 17th, 2023 at 4:50 pm
Todd to Byron…..”I’ve evaluated your performance as OC. You have the worst running of any team in the NFL and are scoring 18 points a game instead of 30. I think we are going to go with Harold Goodwin, run game coordinator as our OC.
January 17th, 2023 at 4:51 pm
Bowles should fire himself.
January 17th, 2023 at 4:55 pm
Bowles probably isn’t going anywhere. I’m surprised he’s waiting to “evaluate” Leftwich. I mean, that evaluation should be sealed by now. Just look at the results all year. Maybe Todd is just being polite.
January 17th, 2023 at 4:55 pm
I’m all for firing BL, but what kind of an OC can you get with Bowles still here?
January 17th, 2023 at 4:59 pm
^^ All kinds, ChattBucsFan.
There are a LOT of incredible creative minds out there who are just WAITING for an opportunity.
January 17th, 2023 at 5:01 pm
Leftwich has been made aware he has been fired. Not announcing it yet for whatever reason.
January 17th, 2023 at 5:04 pm
Bowles isn’t going anywhere. BL is gone. Expect a return to a run heavy offense and a top 5 D…if we can find our way out of cap hell. Shore up the lines (drastically), run the ball, rush the passer, force turnovers…and lose in the 2nd round because we can’t keep up with AFC scoring from this century!
January 17th, 2023 at 5:04 pm
Replace Byron Leftwich with Eric Bieniemy, resign Tom Brady, and we might have a chance at winning the Super Bowl if Todd Bowels keeps his scaredy cat mentality from infecting our offense
January 17th, 2023 at 5:07 pm
RIP to our no risk it no biscuit offense 🙏 Thank you for winning us a Super Bowl
January 17th, 2023 at 5:12 pm
****** Leftwich AINT THE PROBLEM…..ITS BOWLES!!!
How did the office look in 2020? Howabout 2021? And whocwas the OC?…Right.
Then what was the ONLY thing that changed this year…Bowles at HC.
Look Byron is probably not the best guy and I’m ok with firing him.
But the Bucs do know how to win ugly…the defense list that game…they had 2 very good stops…first to drives…after that…holes all over the defense. They never adjusted to the TE…and the players looked confused and out of place……….THAT FALLS ON THE DC/HC.
Defense looked good in 2020…looked good in 2021…what changed…..Bowles became HC. Decent DC….but too much responsibility to be both…
.I would bring in Sean Payton…offer the DC job to Todd or let him walk…cut Lenny, Julio and all the other dead weight….bring in Even Ingram TE jax..hes tall fast can catch and block, and Kareem hunt….and any OL I can find in FA and draft. I would keep white…..AND SCOTTY MILLER…you need speed. Bucs are slow on offense
January 17th, 2023 at 5:13 pm
PewterReport is reporting Bowles had the green light to fire Leftwich during the bye week but didn’t because he thought there wasn’t a good replacement option. This is absurd on several levels. Suffice it to say, he didn’t have the stones to do it. Ergo we have another lingering problem with the guy pulling (or not) the strings.
January 17th, 2023 at 5:13 pm
Sorry typos above
January 17th, 2023 at 5:13 pm
Bowes should also go! I am tired of this BS string of excuses to keep him on its place!! Did we all forget that Bruce Arians left the team to Bowles this year so he could have a Super Bowl ready team???? Why are we now accepting the narrative that is not his fault???
January 17th, 2023 at 5:16 pm
Horseface is boning her trainer so Brady did the right thing.
January 17th, 2023 at 5:16 pm
Bowles will get you to mediocrity and keep you there
January 17th, 2023 at 5:20 pm
How can they not know if they want him back or not? 3 months of absolutely horrible football is all the evidence anyone should need
January 17th, 2023 at 5:20 pm
Who will come with Bowles meddling and on the hot seat? Didn’t Bowles rotate OCs every year for the NYJ?
January 17th, 2023 at 5:20 pm
Would love to know what Peyton & Eli thought of the embarrassment. How long do they expect the fans to deal with losing?
January 17th, 2023 at 5:22 pm
If Leftwich is back next year, I’ll find something better to do when the game is on.
I will NOT waste another Sunday watching JV vs Pros!
January 17th, 2023 at 5:22 pm
Dear Glazers:
Please get rid of Todd Bowles.
January 17th, 2023 at 5:28 pm
I hope someone is evaluating Todd too.
January 17th, 2023 at 5:28 pm
I didn’t even think they were gonna outscore the Cowboys kicker.
January 17th, 2023 at 5:30 pm
In all fairness, Leftwich did exactly what BOWLES wanted. If Bowles was a true leader, he would have made Leftwich make changes during the season. If Bowles returns and he most likely will, next year will be a lousy season. They BOTH need to go!
January 17th, 2023 at 5:33 pm
The new Bucs chant should be:
BYR-ONS-UCKS
BYRON SUCKS!
January 17th, 2023 at 5:36 pm
If you fire leftwich then you also need to fire Bowles and start over
January 17th, 2023 at 5:52 pm
Hey Ham Glazers…Fire everyone on the stafff up to and including the locker room attendants This team has stunk up Ray Jay long enough…go hire Todd Monken from Georgia and right the ship…or just be stubborn millionaires and do the PC thing and keep Bowles and his loser mentality aroumd until your ticket sales plummet below the rushing yards per game the Bucs had this year
January 17th, 2023 at 5:53 pm
yes
the firing will commence shortly
losing team with winning talent
the timing and order of firing will take place whenever it happens; there are likely several parallel conversations taking place to sort out logistics
the fact that the firing hasn’t already happened suggests that the outcome of the Dallas game was a factor in the decision and that there may not have been firings if the outcome may have been different
no urgency in making an announcement; coaching interviews can commence informally before the firings take place
Bowles will get a job quickly
Leftwich won’t be getting a coordinator job soon
January 17th, 2023 at 5:54 pm
He doesn’t deserve another year- and by he I mean the HC and all 3 coordinators
The crap show they put on the field without Daddy babysitting every single day was quite apparent to the entire planet
January 17th, 2023 at 5:54 pm
GLAZERS/JASON LICHT PLEASE LAUNCH BYRON LEFTWICH AND TODD BOWLES AND GET WORKING ON QUALITY REPLACEMENTS
January 17th, 2023 at 5:58 pm
EEK Says:
January 17th, 2023 at 5:53 pm
Leftwich won’t be getting a coordinator job soon
—–
I don’t know. Word is that the Steelers will pounce on him the moment we fire him.
January 17th, 2023 at 5:59 pm
Leftwich will always be stuck in his ways, he never improved that terrible wacky windup as a player and he brings the same mentality to coaching.
January 17th, 2023 at 6:07 pm
This clown takes NO responsibility. It was his defense that lost this game. 27 first downs
27!!!
January 17th, 2023 at 6:12 pm
Makes me even think less of him.. if that was even possible…
January 17th, 2023 at 6:14 pm
Should have happened 12 weeks ago
January 17th, 2023 at 6:16 pm
@NEfan – it was a full team effort in the loss, let’s get real.
Or do you think scoring just 7 points over the first 3 quarters is good for a playoff team?
January 17th, 2023 at 6:26 pm
someone needs to be cst out. Actually more than one. But if he can save his job for another year, I guess Lefty fills the bill.
January 17th, 2023 at 6:30 pm
Get rid of bowles and leftnut and have brady pick his own head coach and offensive coordinator like lebron did this uear except tom knows how to pick them unlike lebron
January 17th, 2023 at 6:47 pm
The fact the Glazers own this team and hadn’t fired left which or bowls by week 13, 14, 15, 16, or 17, is like buying an owning a luxury boat and parking it under an oak tree to watch it rot. I wish they would just sell the team. This season was a golden opportunity. I may be wrong, but I think I’m right. By what I witnessed, I was able to predict the next play on almost every series I watched with about 55% accuracy. Granted I know football better than some, I definitely do not know better than opposing defensive coordinators. We as fans have known all season that the script of plays was the culprit. That either has to come down to Byron Leftwich, or bowls himself if he’s controlling the OC. That is absolutely inexcusable. You’re neutering one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. And no, I don’t think I saw as big a decline as some claim there is. Look at his statistics. Also take note of what he did in certain games when they ran the no huddle.
January 17th, 2023 at 7:01 pm
All three of them.. Licht, Bowles and Leftfoot gotta go.
January 17th, 2023 at 7:04 pm
No reason to keep Bowels unless tanking
It will take 3 years to turnover roster.
Trade Evans…and whomever else you can get picks with
January 17th, 2023 at 7:22 pm
Throughout the 2022 season, it’s been clearly obvious that the coaching staff had lost the locker room. Not sure if it was covering for Brady’s off-field distractions and odd, unexplained absences, or if the players simply couldn’t understand Bowles’ mumbling. By comparison, BA was a coach’s coach. He is articulate, compassionate, fair, emotional, and tough as a $2 steak. And he was smart enough to know how and when to use each of those traits to motivate his men. BA would have been the first person at Russell Gage’s side last night. Not standing on the sideline, oblivious, while medical personnel ran out there to help him. (To be fair, he eventually went out once they came out with the cart…but still…the guy, as always, just seems clueless and indifferent.)
January 17th, 2023 at 7:23 pm
What a sickening display of no energy low enthusiasm garbage football this hack has been in charge of. If Bowles is here next season I promise I’ll be moving on from this organization.
In no way will I invest ANY of my time with this amateur staff.
January 17th, 2023 at 7:37 pm
Until both Lefty and Blows are gone, i just wont be able to stomach the incompetence anymore. Not even planning on watching the draft or researching the prospects….just dont care if these two are still around!
January 17th, 2023 at 7:45 pm
PewterReport reports that Bowels had the green light to launch Leftwich at the bye but chose to tough it out as there was no viable play caller on staff. That turned out to be an idiotic move. Now I hear reports (from PR as well) that the Steelers are interested in Leftwich and are waiting for tjhe Bucs to launch him before they launch their own OC. Are the Steelers trying to go 2-15 next year? Why would they want Wrongwich? I guess in the AFC north its okay to have a bland offense and hope to win games 13-10 but the Steelers will not have the NFC South to sweep next year either. I just can not understand Tomlin having an interest in BL.
January 17th, 2023 at 8:06 pm
Bowles is trying to stay loyal to a fault. BA and his loyalty is unquestionable, however he always had the ability to make up for his coaches short comings. See what they didn’t. Bowles is a different dude.
Bowles CAN BE a good NFL Head-coach but he can’t be both a headcoach and the D-coordinator. He has to pick one of his deciples and give them the defense, then go get HIS offensive coordinator, not BA GUY, his guy. The guy with vision that makes a true game plan vs. the opponents weaknesss.
After Brady confirms that he is going to Miami, Bowles can start fresh.
January 17th, 2023 at 8:23 pm
The Bucs should be awarded a few compensatory draft picks for having to endure this grotesque experiment!
January 17th, 2023 at 8:25 pm
Todd Blowes is barely an average DC in the modern NFL. His guys get roasted in man but don’t know their assignments in zone, leaving coverage busts galore. Been that way since 2019. He is certainly no HC. But, we are stuck with him.
Expectations must be placed squarely on his dufus face, that he wins at least 10 games next year or see ya in the XFL, biotch.
January 17th, 2023 at 8:57 pm
Cardiac? What possibly makes you think that TB is a good football coach and moving on fromTom Brady is going to elevate them to be even better. What a ridiculous take. That has Brady troll alert written all over it. This team made no adjustments the entire season. They couldn’t run the ball, historically bad, just as bad online, no speed, your number one receiver checked out for half the season , ran his own route did what he wanted. The rest of the guys were hurt or old. Without Brady this team wins 3 games maybe? Good luck moving on with Tom and keeping Todd. It’s gonna look very similar to pre-Brady.
January 17th, 2023 at 8:58 pm
So who are the hand-picked options that Bowles would want for OC? Jeremy Bates? John Morton? Or give the failed Chan Gailey yet another job?
January 17th, 2023 at 9:01 pm
He will make Liverwurst a scapegoat sandwich and throw him to the fans. While hopefully avoiding any personal responsibility.
January 17th, 2023 at 9:03 pm
It’s comical that Arians bailed on his protégés….he wanted to leave Bowles a “good team”. Now both Bowles and Leftwich look completely over their heads….
January 17th, 2023 at 9:17 pm
If this is the case, it adds to Bowles’ list of incompetent decisions, and also OneBuc’s. The offense was a zombie, Brady was prevented from real heroics (or he was unwilling or unable), and, although risky, a dramatic move would have forced action and change, ignited a feeling of urgency. The LACK of urgency was one of the primary problems with this team, individually and collectively. To have chose to keep repeating mistakes and keep malaise going exemplies Bowles.
January 17th, 2023 at 10:12 pm
No one should require an endorsement from Toilet Bowles. Dude is a DC thru and thru. He has no business coaching this or any team.
Keep TB in a film room until he figures out how to cover Cooper Kupp. IMO, Bowles blew our chance at a back to back.. and then got a promotion smh
January 17th, 2023 at 10:23 pm
SKbucsfan…… Why in the world would we fire Licht? He got us as Super Bowl and he got Brady. Overall, Licht has been successful in the draft. It would make no sense to fire him. Would you fire him because Bowles got promoted as head coach? Bowles was sought after by other organizations. He was going to be leaving if we didn’t hire him. It would make 0 sense to fire Licht. I haven’t always been happy with Licht decisions in the draft but they usually work out and I eat crow. These knee-jerk reactions just firing any coach or GM when they have a bad season is a retarded way to run an organization. You really need to try to give these GM’s and coaches a mulligan every now and then. The league is hard. They can’t control injuries or when guys retire or go elsewhere on a whim.
January 17th, 2023 at 10:32 pm
They went from a top 3 offense over the last couple of years to the bottom 10 and had a 13 point per game drop off, one of the biggest in history.
WTF is there to assess??
January 17th, 2023 at 10:35 pm
Light needs to go. Too many draft misses.
January 17th, 2023 at 10:38 pm
@ MADMAXX
You’ve got a job to do bruh.
C’mon now we’ve weathered Raheem, Schiano, Lovie, and Dirk.
Don’t give up now Bredren. You’re built better than that.
Hope all’s well with the family and your in good health.
January 17th, 2023 at 10:40 pm
It seems like an impossible situation right now, because if half the coaching problem is addressed (firing Byron) and the other half stays: “Bowles.”
But what could be easier than letting Bruce loose to Head Coach, put Bowles back on D.C, and hire an O.C.?
He’s right there, upstairs chomping on the bit to go back on the sidelines again and “redline” the next O.C. who doesn’t understand “Biscuit philosophy.”
Or hire Sean Peyton, go on a Belichick-like
spending spree for an O-line and Brady stays.
January 17th, 2023 at 11:19 pm
This team will be unwatchable and irrelevant with Todd in charge of it. The level
of fan apathy will be through the roof. Given the body of work, what we saw on the field for the vast majority of training camp and the 19 weeks of football that followed was one of the worst coaching jobs in franchise history. That’s saying something. This team was outmatched week over week by some of the least talented teams in the NFL. Joes, I implore you to call for the end of Todd’s tenure as HC.
January 18th, 2023 at 2:04 am
Bowles isn’t gonna get a good OC heck Bowles is already on the hot seat here
January 18th, 2023 at 10:12 am
I have several friends that are fans of the Chargers and Falcons that are hoping Leftwich is fired so their teams can hire him. Nobody seems to believe that Byron is awful when he doesn’t have a full-time babysitter looking over his shoulder.