A lot has happened in the five years since the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last hoisted a Lombardi trophy. We all sort of figured at the time that the ride wouldn't last forever, something that has been proven by a lot of the key figures on that Super Bowl 55 team have been out of the league for a few years now.
Rob Gronkowski was the first to leave, followed not long after by Bruce Arians and Tom Brady, while a slew of other players left via free agency. While the team looks very different, the success hasn't been diluted as much as everyone assumed at the time.
Jason Licht has managed to navigate out of the choppy post-Brady era waters and has kept the Bucs in contention every year since. Part of that was the injection of talent the team has experienced over the years, but part of that has been turnover on the sideline.
One of the most notable changes was at offensive coordinator, where Byron Leftwich was fired after an abysmal season in 2022. That paved the way for what has been the league's most fruitful coordinator position, as each of the two guys who succeeded him ended up with head coaching jobs.
We'll see if Josh Grizzard can make it a trifecta, but for Leftwich it's been a much different journey the last few years. He was blamed for the offensive failures of Brady's final year with the Bucs, and it's a stain he's been trying to wash out for three years.
Now he gets a chance at redemption, and to prove that he belongs on an NFL sideline.
Byron Leftwich lands a perfect role to revive his coaching career
After three seasons of interviewing for jobs without any success, Leftwich is returning to coaching as part of Deion Sanders' staff at Colorado. It's the second former Buccaneer that Sanders has hired after Warren Sapp, and it's an absolutely perfect role for Leftwich to bounce back.
According to NFL insider Jordan Schultz, Leftwich is joining the Colorado staff in yet-to-be-named role, but chances are it's something to do with the offense. The Buffaloes have an uphill battle ahead of them with both Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter entering the NFL Draft this year, but it's also a blank slate for Leftwich to learn the college game and absorb that knowledge for an eventual return to the NFL.
That's likely the endgame here, as it should be. The Jaguars could have hired Leftwich away from Tampa Bay but mistakenly went with Doug Pederson instead. It's a decision that ultimately led them to hire a Buccaneers offensive coordinator, one who Leftwich could model his return after.
Liam Coen went from an offensive coordinator with the Los Angeles Rams back to college as part of Mark Stoops' staff at Kentucky. It's a decision that helped him learn where offenses are headed and was knowledge he expertly applied with the Bucs.
Leftwich could very well do the same, and linking up with a hot coaching candidate like Sanders is a pretty good wagon to hitch yourself to. If he can make inroads at Colorado, there's a decent chance that Sanders takes him to whatever job is next -- one many believe could be in the NFL.
Beyond that, Leftwich is in a perfect spot to rehab his coaching reputation and potentially catch the attention of teams next year. Whether that be around the college game or back in the pros, Leftwich his making his comeback and it'll be fun to see how he ends up pulling it off.
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