The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were not only able to retain all of their starters from 2020 but all of their assistant coaches as well, which is still truly remarkable. However, next offseason may be a song of a different tune, and 2021 could very well be the final season for offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich with the Buccaneers.
In a quote from head coach Bruce Arians that may have raised quite a few eyebrows, the Bucs’ grand poobah revealed that he doesn’t even attend his own offense’s meetings, and instead lets Leftwich run the show. This isn’t something that should ruffle any feathers, as all it does is show that Bucco Bruce has a huge amount of confidence in his offensive coordinator.
Now, while the offense and playcalling have been a headache for some fans, particularly the, ahem, “wild” concept of establishing the run, the fact of the matter is the offense has still been putting up numbers at a historical pace. Tom Brady is set to have his best season ever, which is saying quite a lot, and the Buccaneers are also on pace to have three 1,000 receivers, which would make them just the sixth offense ever to do so.
The fact of the matter is, while Brady is Brady so naturally, he’ll get all of the praise, and while Arians is the head coach, now that it’s out in the open about the state of the Bucs’ offensive meetings, amongst front office circles, Leftwich will get the credit for the offense’s success, and that is the major key.
The NFL head coaching carousel continues to turn each year, Leftwich, along with defensive coordinator Todd Bowles, were on the radars of head coaching searches this past offseason, and will undoubtedly be again heading into 2022, and should be bigger favorites to land jobs, especially Leftwich the way this offense is humming.
It also helps that by all accounts Leftwich is beloved by his players, which goes a long way, especially in interview processes. He’s a former player himself, and a former top-ten draft pick, which is something players respect. As a bonus, he was also beloved by this writer during his time as the starting quarterback at Marshall University. There is a huge demand for young, offensive minds when it comes to head coach searches, and Leftwich certainly fits that bill. Brady also has quite the resume when it comes to getting his offensive coordinators head coaching jobs, such as Charlie Weis, Bill O’Brien, and Josh McDaniels.
So with all this being said, this very easily could be Byron Leftwich’s final season as offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Fear not though Bucs fans, at least you should still have Brady.