Report: Byron Leftwich Wants Jags Owner Shad Khan To Can GM Trent Baalke
January 27th, 2022
Demands.
It seems if Bryon Leftwich is going to take a head coaching job, the team he ends up with is going to be run his way and only his way.
Earlier this week, a lot of folks were wanting to anoint the Bucs offensive coordinator as the next Jags coach. That still hasn’t happened and it seemed to Joe a red flag that the Jags were still interviewing other coaches and the Bucs continue to get requests from other teams to interview Leftwich.
Why would the Jags continue to waste time and money interviewing other candidates, and why would teams (suits in the NFL talk amongst themselves daily) want to waste time and money interviewing Leftwich if he was a sure thing for the Jags?
Well, John Reid of the Florida Times-Union seems to know why. It appears talks between the Jags and Leftwich have hit a speed bump.
Basically, Leftwich is asking for full power to run the football operations of the Jags.
One of the sticking points in negotiations, however, between the Jaguars and Leftwich is how the control of the roster will be handled. And reports have surfaced that Leftwich is not in favor of having a pre-arranged situation in which general manager Trent Baalke would remain on as general manager.
Instead, Leftwich wants the Jaguars to hire Adrian Wilson, who is the vice president of pro scouting with the Arizona Cardinals.
Joe doesn’t blame Leftwich for wanting to hand-pick his own general manager. Usually, this perk is only offered to NFL coaches who have a history of winning.
If Leftwich can pull this off, major props to him. It’s a ballsy move. Of course, Leftwich and Wilson worked together in Arizona.
(Trivia: In the last four years Baalke has been a general manager, he has launched four coaches. No wonder Leftwich doesn’t want to work for the guy.)
Joe wonders if Leftwich is getting his advice from Bucs Super Bowl-winning coach Bucco Bruce Arians?
Your friend that doesn’t know about the open container policy on Bayshore pic.twitter.com/hKf1SVZq6v
— Big Storm Brewing Co (@BigStormBrewing) January 27, 2022
January 27th, 2022 at 1:37 pm
The Jags job > the Saints job.
At least the Jags have a starting QB in place and expectations would still be pretty low for next season.
If BL can win 7-9 games he will be hailed as a hero.
January 27th, 2022 at 1:38 pm
Good for him. Not sure he’s ready but he might as well give himself the best situation to thrive. Almost certainly he’s getting advice from BA. Good move.
January 27th, 2022 at 1:38 pm
Not to mention the Jags have a ton of cap space and the #1 draft slot…
January 27th, 2022 at 1:39 pm
I disagree Marine. The Jags are a dumpster fire. The Saints (I hope) get back to the Aints days but the Jags appear to continually take steps backwards.
January 27th, 2022 at 1:39 pm
Good for Lefty. Let’s see what happens.
January 27th, 2022 at 1:42 pm
All the jags fans are celebrating this on Twitter. Maybe he wants to come back to Tampa for one more year
January 27th, 2022 at 1:44 pm
Didn’t realize a shatty coach has so much power. Eww, I’m scared you won’t be our head coach? You know the most frustrating part of this whole abrupt ending? San Fran was the perfect match up, a weak passing game that’s reliant on the run. Bucs would of blown them out. You s#$k Bowles. BL, ya need a DC?
January 27th, 2022 at 1:46 pm
Jags are ok. Add acouple vets and draft well this year. Main piece is there.
Lawrence.
I wish i can say we have a qb for the next 10 yrs.
January 27th, 2022 at 1:47 pm
It has happened per PFT.
Baalke out Wilson in.
Wow.
January 27th, 2022 at 1:52 pm
Who will replace lefty. ?
Will arians call Chad O’Shea ? He worked OC with brady up in new england. Or
Kevin Garver Our wr coach
January 27th, 2022 at 1:53 pm
Do we get a 3rd round pick if Leftwich is hired by the Jags per the Rooney rule.
That’s all I care about……………
January 27th, 2022 at 1:53 pm
@ SC Buc fan
The Jags are set up very nicely for the future.
Starting QB in place and developing well.
A huge amount of salary cap dollars to spend.
The #1 draft slot and overall pick in this years draft.
The Saints are the exact opposite.
You are correct that the Jags have been bad for a long time but before Sean Payton the Saints were no different…
History is exactly that – history… The present and future matter more.
January 27th, 2022 at 1:54 pm
The Bucs get two third-round picks, one third-rounder in two successive years.
January 27th, 2022 at 1:54 pm
It may be a ballsy move but it’s a necessary move. Baalke has been in a decision making position for the Jaguars since 2020 and in that time the team has only won four games. Head coaching opportunities in the NFL are rare and you can’t have a guy at GM making bad decisions and undermining the coach’s success.
January 27th, 2022 at 1:56 pm
Lay down the LAW Leftie !
Da grapevine has doomed the GM for the clusterpuck of last year
January 27th, 2022 at 1:59 pm
If he can’t pull it off I’d just stay in Tampa if I were him
January 27th, 2022 at 2:01 pm
Trent Blake was just fired and Adrian Wilson hired so I guess he takes the job
January 27th, 2022 at 2:04 pm
Reports are that jaguars are willing to can the current GM for what Leftwich wants so he probably will be the head coach there. I know jaguar fan base have wanted a GM change for sometime now. Looks like BA will be calling plays cause I think Leftwich is gone.
January 27th, 2022 at 2:08 pm
Why take the job if you don’t trust who you would be working with? General Manager and Head Coach needs to be a marriage. There needs to be some give and take, and why would anybody trust Baalke with that. I don’t think he’s ever gotten along with a coaching staff if reports are true about him.
January 27th, 2022 at 2:19 pm
Leftwich asking too much power, he is shooting for the stars, or he will be more than happy to remain as Bucs OC….. Jaguars, please give it to him.
January 27th, 2022 at 2:56 pm
I prefer he go to the saints……imagine him and jw, with no SP to keep them in check.
heck, I bet they break 40 int’s and 300 yard rushing for the team combined.
January 27th, 2022 at 2:59 pm
The Jags owner Kahn is complicit in this cesspool. I do want lefty to leave Tampa, I’m not a fan, but he deserves better. Reminds me of Bowles tailspin with the Jets.
January 27th, 2022 at 3:02 pm
@”…Leftwich asking too much power, he is shooting for the stars,…”
————————
He is afraid, he is not ready, he never will. He is just a different version of R Morris.
He needs an umbrella…. BA umbrella protect him, comforted him.
I’m afraid we are stuck with him and Tooddd.
JW area is coming back, this time with Gabbert..
January 27th, 2022 at 3:07 pm
Another Jags failure as HC.
January 27th, 2022 at 3:17 pm
I wish him well wherever he goes…EXCEPT when his team plays the Bucs.
These are sound moves to insure success. People don’t want to give BL the credit he deserves and we’re all entitled to our opinions. If he surrounds himself with a good competent staff, there’s no reason to believe that he can’t have success.
Just to remind folks: BA has been the HC for 3 years. We have won a Super Bowl and a division title in that span. Neither Gruden nor Dungy accomplished that.
January 27th, 2022 at 3:29 pm
‘Basically, Leftwich is asking for full power to run the football operations of the Jags.’
Good for Byron. Trent Baalke did a lousy job out in San Fran, and has done an even worse job since being hired as the Jax GM. Any new HC doesn’t stand a prayer without a competent GM to work with.
January 27th, 2022 at 3:35 pm
Great move for Byron. Whether he gets the job and his GM or not this shows me hes not taking any job if the situation isnt right.
4 head coachs in 4 years? That almost doesnt sound believable hahaha. No way he should be taking a job under a GM with that horrible of a track record. Thats basically ruining your career as a HC before it even starts.
Whoever gets Byron is going to be lucky. Just look at all the coachs he has been surrounded with and look at their backrounds. There are lots of deep ties to some of the best minds in football and some of the greatest orginizations………….That kinda stuff matters a lot(listen to the Sean Peyton presser to hear about it). Look at some of the quality free agents that have come to the Bucs since Bruce got here. That arent been luck.
January 27th, 2022 at 3:37 pm
Either the Jags are taking their sweet time (announced GM switch awful fast) or maybe Adrian Wilson doesn’t want to hire Lefty… Wouldn’t that be a strange twist in current events!
January 27th, 2022 at 3:39 pm
Have you ever interviewed for a job when you already had a job you liked? I have. It went something like this: “I want ___ and ___ and___ and____ would be nice, as would _____.” It was fun. Sounds like BL is happy here and smart enough to not give up that happiness without getting EVERYTHING he wants. Good for him!
January 27th, 2022 at 3:41 pm
The big worry about losing Byron is whats going to happen to this offense whenever Bruce retires. Sounds like he will take over running the offense if Byron leaves and that tells me he doesnt have another person on the staff that has mastered the offense as well as Byron.
If we wind up losing Byron and Bruce then have to find an entire new offensive system that is big time trouble for a team thats built offensive heavy.
I darn sure hope Bruce is training somebody to keep this offense rolling in the future.
January 27th, 2022 at 3:46 pm
I will take the free picks and whoever Brady wants as OC.
January 27th, 2022 at 3:59 pm
The head coach does not pick the GM. It’s the other way around. Leftwich has ZERO head coaching experience and barely any coordinator experience where his QB is the greatest of all time and basically ran the offense himself.
Let’s not even talk about how much better the offense was when Brady was calling the plays during two minute drills.
I’m all for Leftwich getting his own coaching gig and wish him well, but if this is true about him making demands it is flat out ridiculous. Dude is unproven.
January 27th, 2022 at 4:07 pm
Fans want BL but owner is a dope. Not surprised if BL becomes a Staint.
January 27th, 2022 at 4:14 pm
@crazybucs_CL
He is afraid, he is not ready, he never will. He is just a different version of R Morris.
He needs an umbrella…. BA umbrella protect him, comforted him.
I’m afraid we are stuck with him and Tooddd.
JW area is coming back, this time with Gabbert..
—————————————————————–
More like he saw what happened to Morris. He had no power with an overzealous GM. Did you realize Morris wanted Sean McVey as his OC and Dan Quinn as his DC, but Marky D shut it down. And to compare the two is ridiculous. Leftwich has 3 and 1/2 years of OC experience Morris had no experience. Congrats Byron you deserve it and will be missed!!
January 27th, 2022 at 4:22 pm
The MASTERMIND yields much power.
January 27th, 2022 at 4:25 pm
First Joe has heard of that. Was under the impression Raheem wanted Jeremy Bates as his offensive coordinator but couldn’t get him. And yes, Joe knows that Jeremy Bates is the son of defrocked defensive coordinator Jim Bates, who (mercifully) Raheem launched midway through his first season.
January 27th, 2022 at 5:07 pm
WalkdaPlank. You dont even have to look outside the Bucs to know that not true.
Lovie picked his own GM when got here.
Gruden also was given power over the GM and brought in his own guy.
Im sure there are plenty more examples of HCs picking there on GM outside of the Bucs. GM is usually the top guy but thats not always the case.
January 27th, 2022 at 5:32 pm
Bucsfansince1975 Says:
January 27th, 2022 at 2:01 pm
Trent Blake was just fired and Adrian Wilson hired so I guess he takes the job.
Confirmed by MSN w;o a timestamp.
So long Byron. Great job! Thanks for all that you contibuted to our success! I wish you success, but not at our expense. 😆 😍 🤩
January 27th, 2022 at 6:16 pm
Good for Byron. I’ve suspected all along the Jags owner could care less about football. Only the money. His team is probably just part of his portfolio for cash flow. The owner wants his guys in there at certain position. Thats understandable. But he’s no Jerry Jones. When you mix and match like the Jags do? Well you get the record they have. Leftwich is smart to want to have certain people around him. He may be doomed though. That owner does not know what he is doing. Hope Byron can get what he wants. Or just take his name out of the hat.
January 27th, 2022 at 8:00 pm
He’ll get another shot. Don’t go to that giant tire fire in Jacksonville. The idiot ownership actually hired urban Meyer. Ben doesn’t think BL is quite head coach material just yet. Build up the resume, and don’t hurt your career just because it’s a head coaching gig
January 27th, 2022 at 8:21 pm
Good for Byron! Outside of the pay raise he’d get, he’s he’s a little looney to consider being their coach and he’d be insane to work under that gm.
January 27th, 2022 at 8:43 pm
He’s not the coach, why didn’t the owner go out and find a winner Young and offensive mind Brady carried this guy
January 27th, 2022 at 8:52 pm
Good Luck Leftwich!! The next question is how much will this influence Brady’s decision about retirement? If Brady was on the fence leaning towards retirement will this be the thing that makes up his mind?
January 27th, 2022 at 9:26 pm
“Joe doesn’t blame Leftwich for wanting to hand-pick his own general manager. Usually, this perk is only offered to NFL coaches who have a history of winning.”
But Leftwich is a coach of color so he could get the extra break as if he had a winning record. That’s the entire spirit of the Rooney rule, to give extra breaks to the deserving underserved.
January 27th, 2022 at 10:32 pm
Smart move. They go through coaches left and right, they need him out of there. BL‘s young. I hope he gets a shot to stay there with Trevor Lawrence for a long time. I’m not a jag fan but I am a fan of Trevor and he has a chance to be great if he is given some stability
January 27th, 2022 at 11:44 pm
Trent Baalke is a genuine, certified Pr!ck, who ran Jim Harbaugh off in San Francisco.
I don’t blame Leftwich for not wanting to work with him.
Fans in Jacksonville HATE Baalke too, with a passion.
January 28th, 2022 at 4:04 am
Poor lil think think List is wrong again…
Didn’t realize a shatty coach has so much power. Eww, I’m scared you won’t be our head coach? You know the most frustrating part of this whole abrupt ending? San Fran was the perfect match up, a weak passing game that’s reliant on the run. Bucs would of blown them out. You s#$k Bowles. BL, ya need a DC?
January 28th, 2022 at 4:09 am
Apparently NFL owners and people who actually have millions of dollars on the line disagree with your 1960’s worldview. They clearly recognize that Coach L was the offensive genius that taught Tom Brady this offense and helped him post some of the best numbers of his illustrious career just as he did for Jamie’s Winston before Brady.
WalkdaPlank Says:
January 27th, 2022 at 3:59 pm
The head coach does not pick the GM. It’s the other way around. Leftwich has ZERO head coaching experience and barely any coordinator experience where his QB is the greatest of all time and basically ran the offense himself.
Let’s not even talk about how much better the offense was when Brady was calling the plays during two minute drills.
I’m all for Leftwich getting his own coaching gig and wish him well, but if this is true about him making demands it is flat out ridiculous. Dude is unproven.
January 28th, 2022 at 4:12 am
Another fan of the 1960’s world of sports. That time has passed and now that Coach L has proven over the past three years to be the mastermind of an offense that helped both Winston and Brady post huge numbers, he is being rewarded with the opportunity he earned. I absolutely love how butt hurt it makes you people.
@crazybucs_CL
He is afraid, he is not ready, he never will. He is just a different version of R Morris.
He needs an umbrella…. BA umbrella protect him, comforted him.
I’m afraid we are stuck with him and Tooddd.
JW area is coming back, this time with Gabbert..
January 28th, 2022 at 6:43 am
What if Josh McDaniel we’re hired as HC and BA moved to consulting role? It would keep Brady from learning a new offense and a new person. BA can coach McDaniel on being a HC. New/young staff so it would be easier to attract assistants (I think BA with no OC or potentially DC is going to bolt anyway). Helps keep Gronk too.
January 28th, 2022 at 10:00 am
Riddle me this? What makes Josh McDaniel an attractive head coach to people who don’t think Byron Leftwich is qualified or is even a good Offensive Coordinator? What objective evidence makes some think Coach Leftwich is just a figurehead and only successful because of Brady, but McDaniel is an offensive genius?