Byron Leftwich reportedly a ‘serious candidate’ for top college job
By Josh Hill
Just three seasons ago the Tampa Bay Buccaneers boasted one of the NFL’s best offenses on its way to winning the Super Bowl. Now the franchise enters an offseason of uncertainty with needing to replace the men who helped lead them to such great success.
With Tom Brady officially gone — we’ll refrain from saying retired for the time being — the Bucs need to figure out who will be the team’s quarterback in 2023. Adjacently, the team needs to hire an offensive coordinator after firing Byron Leftwich following Tampa Bay’s Wild Card loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
It’s been almost a month since the Bucs vacated the top offensive job on Todd Bowles staff but there hasn’t been much to write home about. Candidates like Klint Kubiak, Jim Bob Cooter, and Todd Monken have been interviewed, and there was a brief moment where Kellen Moore might have been a possibility. Other than that, as well as interviews with CVIkings wide receiver coach Keenan McCardell and Bengals quarterbacks coach Dan Pitcher, all has been mostly quiet down in Tampa.
Leftwich is having a similarly slow burn when it comes to his job hunt. He was mentioned with a few NFL openings, most notably on John Harbaugh’s staff in Baltimore, but there hasn’t been much movement. That might be about to change, and Leftwich could be trading in a position in the pros to go back to school.
Buccaneers News: Ex-OC Byron Leftwich might join Notre Dame staff
According to Grace Remington from 24/7 Sports, Leftwich is a ‘serious candidate’ to become the next offensive coordinator at Notre Dame.
“Byron Leftwich reached out to Notre Dame about the [offensive coordinator] position last week, per source,” Remington reported. “He and Marcus Freeman have stayed in contact as Leftwich remains a serious candidate for the job.“
The Irish lost offensive coordinator Tommy Rees to Alabama this offseason, vacating a position that could be ripe for some serious exposure to whoever takes over — assuming they have success.
It’s hard to not root for Leftwich landing on his feet. After all, for as bad as last season was he helped orchestrate some of the most exciting seasons Buccaneers fans have been lucky enough to witness. Even the failed 2021 campaign was a fun ride and nothing can take away the Super Bowl win a year before.
Notre Dame seems like the sort of unexpected for that could work perfectly for Leftwich. It would allow him to adapt his play calling and learn some of the next-gen offensive designs that will help position him to one day return to the NFL.
Working somewhere else in the league seems like a good option, especially if he can pair himself with a smart head coach and a good quarterback to allow him to shine. But going back to school both literally and figuratively might be what Leftwich needs to set up his rebirth in the pros.