After a successful regular season, it was only a matter of time before the Buccaneer coaching staff started getting new offers. Byron Leftwich is up first.
“A rising tide lifts all boats.” A successful season like this one for the Buccaneers will make numerous people a lot of money. Players will become more expensive in free agency after a hopeful playoff push, and the same can be said about the rest of people in the organization. In addition to players, coaches like Byron Leftwich will also get a share of the shine.
It is impossible to bring up the Buccaneers without mentioning their offense. As one of the better units over the past month, Tampa Bay’s offense has solidified itself as one of the best in the NFL, and Leftwich is as much a leader for that unit as Brady.
This correlation between offensive success and Leftwich is going to make himself a lot of money very soon, even if he has struggled at times this season.
At a mere forty years old, Leftwich should get some slack as a coordinator. It may be hard for some of us to get past the running on first downs and the questionable personnel groupings, but the offense has been exponentially better these past few weeks. Leftwich has found his stride like the rest of the offense, and he should be rewarded for his improvement. The offense’s success or lack thereof in the playoffs should be very telling for his potential options down the road.
Given his age and quick-rising popularity amongst the ranks of coordinators, Leftwich should be considered a head coaching candidate very soon, even for the Buccaneers after Bruce Arians departs. But the Bucs may need to act quickly if they want to tie Leftwich down.