The Rise and Fall of Byron Leftwich: A Closer Look at His Coaching Career

They paid attention to the Bucs offense, which averaged nearly 30 points per game this season. They were impressed by the 40-plus touchdown passes and how a former No. 1 pick at quarterback led his team to another NFC South title.

It was no surprise the Jaguars wanted to interview the Bucs offensive coordinator, who is considered a leading candidate for their head coaching job.

Now imagine if Liam Coen doesn’t get the job and returns to the Bucs for one season, then disappears from football. What are the odds the NFL would lose his phone number for two seasons? It sounds pretty improbable.

Well, that’s what happened to Byron Leftwich.

The former Jaguars and Steelers quarterback, who began his coaching career alongside Bruce Arians in Arizona, called plays for some of the most prolific offenses in NFL history for three of his four seasons with the Bucs.

Twice in four years, Leftwich’s quarterbacks passed for more than 5,000 yards. Under Leftwich, the Bucs averaged 28.6 points per game, (2019), 30.75 (2020) and 30.05 (2021) before slumping to 18.4 (2022) in Tom Brady’s final season. Even so, the Bucs finished No. 1, No. 2, No. 1 and No. 2 in passing yards during Leftwich’s four years in Tampa Bay.

Coen has had one outstanding season calling plays in the NFL, with the Bucs bowing out of the playoffs with an NFC wild-card loss to Washington. Leftwich helped the Bucs win Super Bowl 55.

Leftwich was considered a frontrunner for the Jaguars’ head coaching job that eventually went to Doug Pederson in February 2022.

Then Leftwich was fired in January 2023 and fell off the grid.

Since then, Leftwich has enjoyed cooking breakfasts and driving his 14-year-old son, Dominic, to school, AAU basketball and junior varsity football practice in Atlanta.

“I’ve loved every minute of it,” Leftwich said of the time with his son.

But to be clear: He wants to coach again. He always has.

“I’ve not changed my number,” said Leftwich, 45. “I’ve just been taking my son to school every day, making breakfast. Now, I’m having the time of my life. But even my son is like, ‘Dad, are you going to coach again?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, I am going to get back in.’

“Hopefully, I’ll get an opportunity but I’m ready to coach.”

A False Narrative?

Leftwich isn’t a self-promoter. He doesn’t connect with NFL insiders who sometimes are represented by the same agents as the coaches they hype for jobs.

“Man, I’m a coach,” he said. “I’m an offensive coordinator. There are more stories on me in the news that are so false. None of them are right. Zero percent of them are right.”

Leftwich was a hot assistant following the 2021 season. The Bucs had nearly returned to the Super Bowl, losing to the Rams on a last-second field goal in the division round of the NFC playoffs. The Rams went on to win the Super Bowl.

Then came buzz that Leftwich turned down the Jaguars job because he didn’t want to work with general manager Trent Baalke. Reports surfaced that Leftwich wanted the Jaguars to hire Adrian Wilson, who was the vice president of pro scouting with the Cardinals.

Leftwich insists he never discussed Baalke or the front office during his interview with Jacksonville. And when the Steelers fired offensive coordinator Matt Canada after Week 11 in 2023, there was speculation Leftwich might replace him.

“These stories about me that’s been coming out, none of them are true,” Leftwich said. “Like the story that I called Pittsburgh about another man’s job. … I would never do that to another coach.”

No Credit for the Highs, Only Lows

There have been some meteoric rises among coaches in the NFL.

Dave Canales spent 13 seasons with Pete Carroll, dating back to his years at Southern Cal. Twelve of them were as a Seahawks assistant, coaching anything from receivers to quarterbacks and serving as the passing game coordinator. But Carroll passed Canales over four times as offensive coordinator, hiring Jeremy Bates, Darrell Bevell, Brian Schottenheimer and Shane Waldron.

When Canales was hired as the Bucs offensive coordinator for the 2023 season, it was the first time he’d called plays since 2005 at Carson (California) High School. The Bucs went from 18.4 points per game to 20.4. That’s not a seismic shift and they remained the worst rushing team in the NFL.

But it was all Canales needed to earn the head coaching job for the Panthers, a division rival of the Bucs.

Meanwhile, Leftwich was forgotten.

Leftwich never received much credit for the Bucs’ success. It was always considered Arians’ offense, even though he repeatedly said he did not do any game planning.

Former NFL player Rich Ohrnberger tweeted in 2021 that Arians “would take a red pen” to any work on the week’s game plan that Leftwich and Brady had done, creating tension between the coordinator and quarterback.

Arians shot down that report, but it buttressed the belief that Arians was running the offense. When things went well, as they did after a 7-5 start in 2020 turned into eight straight wins and a Super Bowl win, Brady and Arians got all the credit. When the Bucs’ struggled, it was Leftwich’s offense.

But Leftwich doesn’t lack confidence. He played quarterback for four teams in 10 NFL seasons and was the seventh overall choice of the Jaguars in 2003. He won a Super Bowl with the 2008 Steelers as Ben Roethlisberger’s backup with Arians the offensive coordinator.

Not many NFL coaches have stood behind center in the league and seen the game from that vantage point.

“He has an extremely great football mind,” Arians said this past week of Leftwich. “He’s a great teacher and can make it simple. And he’s the ultimate leader. … He’s got it all.”

Where’s His Second Chance?

Until Jan. 7, when he interviewed for the Patriots head coaching job that proved to be Mike Vrabel’s from the start, Leftwich had been off the NFL coaching radar.

Last week, he received an interview for the Seahawks’ offensive coordinator position, though former Saints offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak has seemingly emerged as the favorite after a second interview.

There’s some irony to Leftwich’s situation. Before Arians hung it up in March 2022, before Brady decided to unretire, the quarterback the Bucs pursued was Baker Mayfield.

Canales and Coen benefitted from their success with Mayfield, who reset career marks this season with 4,500 yards passing, 41 touchdowns and a 71.4 completion percentage.

The work with Mayfield landed Canales with the Panthers and Coen an interview with the Jaguars.

Leftwich knows he deserves his chance to return to the NFL as well.

“I just want everybody to do their homework,” he said. “It seems like with me, nobody wants to do their homework. For some reason, they don’t want to find out what I really am as a coach, and I don’t know why.”

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Conclusion

Byron Leftwich’s coaching career has been marked by highs and lows, with his contributions sometimes overlooked. Despite challenges and false narratives, he remains determined to make a comeback and prove his capabilities in the NFL.

FAQs

1. Will Byron Leftwich get another coaching opportunity?

Leftwich is hopeful for another coaching opportunity and is actively seeking a return to the NFL.

2. What challenges has Leftwich faced in his coaching career?

Leftwich has encountered false narratives and lack of recognition for his contributions to successful offenses, leading to setbacks in his coaching journey.