On Thursday, January 19, 2023, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced the dismissals of offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich as well as eight other coaches, as part of a staff overhaul.
Todd Bowles made the first major personnel change since becoming head coach on March 30, by firing Leftwich after four seasons as the team’s offensive playcaller. The Buccaneers had a record of 8-9 in the season, winning the NFC South; however, their expectations were not met as they ended with a 31-14 defeat to the Dallas Cowboys in the wild-card round of the playoffs. Additionally, specialists coach Chris Boniol, wide receivers coach Kevin Garver, offensive quality control coach Jeff Kastl, assistant defensive line coach Lori Locust and running backs coach Todd McNair, have all departed the staff. Meanwhile, Quarterbacks coach Clyde Christensen, senior offensive assistant Rick Christophel and outside linebackers coach Bob Sanders have chosen to retire.
“We appreciate the hard work and contributions that all of these coaches made to our successes over the past four seasons,” Bowles said in a statement. “As a collective group, we did not meet the high standards that had been set for this past year and my focus now is on doing what is needed to ensure a successful 2023 season. These were very difficult decisions but something that I felt was necessary for our football team going forward.”
In 2020-2021, the Buccaneers achieved unparalleled success behind the combination of former coach Bruce Arians’ “No Risk It, No Biscuit” offense, and Tom Brady’s preferred elements of the New England Patriots system. This allowed the Bucs to win Super Bowl LV in Brady’s first year with the team, despite not being able to practice due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During that two-year period, the Bucs notched the highest points per game average in the NFL, at 30.39. Nevertheless, this success began to dwindle in 2022. That season, the Bucs averaged a league-worst 18.41 points per game, and worst in the league 76.94 rushing yards per game. This necessitated Brady to attempt a notable 756 passing attempts in his 45th year of playing.
This season, the Bucs saw their offense hindered by the retirement of tight end Rob Gronkowski and left guard Ali Marpet, the departure of right guard Alex Cappa in free agency, and the absence of wide receiver Antonio Brown. Making matters worse was Offensive Coordinator Byron Leftwich’s failure to adjust to the available personnel and his reliance on predictable plays. Combined, the factors resulted in a decline in offensive production.
This offseason, Brady is set to become an unrestricted free agent, but the Bucs will give him insight into their plans, hoping that the right decision at offensive coordinator could make all the difference in retaining him for another season. Many analysts have come to Byron Leftwich’s defense since his firing, claiming he was the scapegoat for the bad season and that the real problem is head coach Todd Bowels. Bowels was a total failure for the New York Jets, and now in Tampa with a top-notch roster, his first playoff season ended with a sub-500 record – and Bowels shifted the blame to everyone else but himself. He doesn’t display the fire or passion that Bruce Arians did, nor does he command attention from either his players or the media. None of the qualities one would want for a strong leader of men. Even with the Buccaneers firing Leftwich and the rest of the coaching staff, it won’t point the team in the right direction – it will only lead them further away from their goals. To make matters even worse, it’ll be hard to convince a quarterback of the caliber of Tom Brady to remain with the team under uncertainty.