Best Offseason Move Remains Firing Byron Leftwich
March 16th, 2023
Joe sure hopes this post ages terribly by the end of the day.
Yes, the free agency bell rang Monday afternoon and the Bucs brought back Jamel Dean for huge money to keep their top cornerbacks tandem together. And Tampa Bay found cash to keep iconic linebacker Lavonte David, their leading tackler in 2022. General manager Jason Licht even got a solid deal to retain his top sacks guy off the edge last season, Anthony Nelson.
The Bucs also signed a big-name (big-game?) quarterback in Baker Mayfield to compete with Kyle Trask (allegedly).
It all feels pretty good and Joe thinks Licht has done a strong job. But what have the Bucs really accomplished? Are they a better team than they were three months ago?
Joe thought about this over a Big Storm beer last night and kept coming back to Tampa Bay firing playcaller Byron Leftwich, who had transformed from Super Bowl champion offensive coordinator into a guy incapable of adjusting his offense and establishing a healthy rhythm/balance consistently.
His firing remains, and likely will remain, the biggest move of the Bucs offseason. Yeah, he was that bad.
The prowess of new offensive coordinator Dave Canales is a true mystery, but with the first wave of free agency winding down, dumping Leftwich looks like the most impactful winter play.
March 16th, 2023 at 11:02 am
Let’s not forget cutting Donovan Smith…
March 16th, 2023 at 11:03 am
We just signed Chase Edmonds
March 16th, 2023 at 11:03 am
Amen!!!!!!!!!!!
March 16th, 2023 at 11:04 am
1000%
March 16th, 2023 at 11:04 am
Byron…please, don’t remind us Joe.
March 16th, 2023 at 11:07 am
Yeah and I guess Bowles had nothing to do with the offense lol.
March 16th, 2023 at 11:09 am
Edmonds is good depth. Taking over for Gio, hopefully he can stay healthier than Gio.
March 16th, 2023 at 11:17 am
Does Leftwich have a job yet?
March 16th, 2023 at 11:22 am
Definitely the best move this offseason!
March 16th, 2023 at 11:24 am
That’s what we do …dump on Leftwitch, the guy who helped bring a SUPER BOWL to your glorious city ……and we just signed Baker Mayfield ….we’ll let’s just see what he do!
March 16th, 2023 at 11:25 am
Bucs have done a good job, he was just that bad. Is it possible for this Offense to average 20 points a game this year, something that Brady could not? 20 points per game would place you 20th in offensive output, not a terribly unreasonable number to get to with some of the talent on that side of the ball.
March 16th, 2023 at 11:29 am
Thats the only reason im still here part time….if they had kept him, i wasnt even going to watch….tired of shaking my head
Can we get Bowles a DC now or is he shutting that down?
March 16th, 2023 at 11:30 am
The question I have is, can Bowels keep his hands off the offence?
March 16th, 2023 at 11:33 am
The subtraction of Leftwich was the most obvious move that had to be made. And where has he been hired?
March 16th, 2023 at 11:34 am
Best post of all time.
March 16th, 2023 at 11:36 am
And he worst move for the Bucs will be, Not firing Todd Bolwes and not going for the Full Rebuild.
March 16th, 2023 at 11:37 am
By mid season there should be a high school offensive coordinator position willing to take a chance on Leftwich.
March 16th, 2023 at 11:39 am
I find it interesting that BL hasn’t been hired anywhere else… Not even college.
I said he should be the QB coach at Marshall or a smaller program like Jackson State and was called the “R” word for it…
He needs to start over at the bottom of the coaching totem pole and earn his next promotion.
March 16th, 2023 at 11:40 am
I find all the BL situation analysis pretty unfair.
Last year was horrible we all know this and the guy to blame was just BL, not Brady not the head coach.
2020 and 2021 offense was close to great, and the merit is from BA and TB not BL….
Sometimes 2+2 is not 4 anymore
March 16th, 2023 at 11:40 am
Like our new running back coach can’t say the same about our new OC likes to talk hopefully he can walk the walk hes going to need to with Bowles.
March 16th, 2023 at 11:46 am
Marine, go ahead and use the word, “racist”. That word has lost all meaning.
March 16th, 2023 at 11:54 am
No doubt about that Joe!!!
March 16th, 2023 at 12:06 pm
Good for Leftwich getting away from this obvious tank job
March 16th, 2023 at 12:07 pm
As many have said, keeping Bowles is by far the worst one…
March 16th, 2023 at 12:08 pm
True, to an extent. I’d say firing Leftwich was #1b.
The best overall off-season move, #1a, didn’t happen. That is firing Bowles.
March 16th, 2023 at 12:10 pm
Joe answered his own hypothetical within the same post. I don’t think any true fan of this team is anything but pleased with what they’ve been able to do so far. We signed our own top free agent at below market prices. We re-signed our best linebacker. We re-signed probably our current best pass rusher. All of these guys had options. We signed an experienced veteran quarterback for a song based on current QB salary standards. And yes, we hired an up-and-coming OC to bring a different offensive philosophy to the team. Whether or not that last one was the best move or not doesn’t even really matter to me. This team like all teams will be the sum of its parts and today it looks much better than a few days ago.
March 16th, 2023 at 12:11 pm
Byron is Bruce
March 16th, 2023 at 12:14 pm
Marine, it’s always telling when players and coaches you cut or fired are not hired by other organizations. We will probably never know why BA holds BL in such high regard. Maybe he was a good and devoted yes man. Maybe behind closed doors he displays an acumen that he never displayed as a play caller. Who knows?
March 16th, 2023 at 12:14 pm
Wait until you see the craptastic offense that will take the field next year. HC is a complete waste as a HC. Pure failure waiting to happen. Baker could be successful but now he signed on to another cesspool of an offense, so his career will be over. Bowles is the worst head coach currently coaching. This team is going to be a loser and get wore the longer he is the HC. He will blame and get every single person fired until the FO figures out he is useless as anything other than a DC.
March 16th, 2023 at 12:19 pm
And next year will be firing Bowls. Almost had two 3rd round picks for them last year… ugh
March 16th, 2023 at 12:20 pm
Lefty needed to go 1/2 way thru 2022 but no one could seem to pull that trigger.
I’m not too optimistic that the Bucs 12th choice “Can Do” Canales will produce a high octane attack. What he will do is use hyperbole and mixed sports metaphors with Baker Mayfield as his new “point guard”. I would love for him to prove me wrong and become the next hot coaching prospect, however.
March 16th, 2023 at 12:26 pm
@ Steven
I agree.
It will be interesting to see where BL ends up coaching in 2023…
March 16th, 2023 at 12:27 pm
Disagree. It wasn’t Leftwich it was an underperforming aging QB named Brady who was the problem.
March 16th, 2023 at 12:35 pm
Mike – then why isn’t he been hired by anyone? You also though Lavigne was good as gone…
March 16th, 2023 at 12:55 pm
Contrary to seemingly popular belief on this page , the sky has not yet fallen , the hounds of hell have not been unleashed ,the earth still seems to be spinning in its proper grooves and maybe , just maybe, the sun will come out tomorrow!
March 16th, 2023 at 1:00 pm
Part of this has to fall on the head coach as well. The loss of Arians meant the game plan and in game adjustments came from Bowles and Leftwich. They were both simply outcoached on an almost weekly basis. It will be interesting to see the game plan coming from a new offensive coordinator. Problem is Bowles only wants to run the ball so who knows.
March 16th, 2023 at 1:06 pm
Mike Johnson….Leftwich sucked so much even Bowles could see it.
Bowles saw what most of us fans saw.
Not you of course as always.
Stay proud of being smarter than Bowles. 🙂
March 16th, 2023 at 1:06 pm
Joe … ‘But what have the Bucs really accomplished? Are they a better team than they were three months ago?’
Should’ve had a few more Big Storms Joe, because all you came up with in answering those 2 questions was opening cans of worms that lead to asking a lot more questions.
Byron Leftwich is yesterday’s news. I could care less who hired him or didn’t fire him. Not a single JBFer knows what’s gone on with BL since he left the Bucs. And you know how much difference it’s made to our 2023 team position? Nada … zip, zero, zilch.
If I had to pick a name for Bucs’ fans & media right now, it’d be ‘The Wallowers’. For some ungodly reason, y’all seem to take great delight in wallowing in the perceived misfortune of others. Move on little doggies, move on.
March 16th, 2023 at 1:16 pm
For all those chastising Ira for liking Giovanni Bernard, he actually did reasonably well in his 2 years as a Buc. Wasn’t allowed to run the ball much (only 8 times each season), but he did average 5.4 YPC over that 2 year span, much better than any of our other RBs. Only got targeted 31 times in those same 2 years, but caught over 80% of those for 3 TDs. Not easy being the 3rd or 4th RB on the Bucs obviously (Vaughn would probably agree).
March 16th, 2023 at 1:30 pm
Marine, go ahead and use the word, “racist”. That word has lost all meaning.
—
I think the meaning is pretty clear bud.
March 16th, 2023 at 1:38 pm
@ DR
“I could care less who hired him or didn’t fire him. Not a single JBFer knows what’s gone on with BL since he left the Bucs.”
I agree. Who really cares about BL? He is long gone and it has zero impact on the 2023 Bucs.
I do find it interesting that BL has not landed anywhere else. Not even as an assistant coach.
Perhaps Todd Bowles made the right decision.
Everyone wants to jump on Bowles for bad decisions (like the last play against the Rams) but I believe it is more honest to give him righteous props when he makes good decisions.
March 16th, 2023 at 1:41 pm
@ 954
I would use that word but then I get put in “moderation” for the next month…
No thanks.
I support Todd Bowles. He always has solid defenses and he made the right choice by ejecting BL into unemployment.
March 16th, 2023 at 1:43 pm
Amen!
March 16th, 2023 at 2:07 pm
Offense is gonna be better? Top 5 for 3 straight years.. let’s see.how they rank this year
March 16th, 2023 at 2:25 pm
Todd Bowles has moved on, Jason Licht has moved on, Bruce Arians has moved on, even the GOAT has moved on. For the love of all that is holy and unholy, let it go Joe. Do us all a favor and save the weekly tirades for Mike Smith, even though it would be nice if you could let that go too.
March 16th, 2023 at 2:38 pm
I think the jury is still out on who is actually to blame for last year’s offensive ineptitude. It’s been said several times that once Bowles took over, he wanted a Ed’s risky, more run heavy offense; handicapping the 30 ppg offense of the last two years. Who knows if Leftwich alone can call plays when he wasn’t allowed to use his fully playbook. Bowles is a great guy and d coordinator, but just stifled the good thing we had going
March 16th, 2023 at 2:50 pm
Delusional Intelligence … Kudos on top of kudos. You nailed it.
March 16th, 2023 at 2:53 pm
Marine Buc … ‘I do find it interesting that BL has not landed anywhere else. Not even as an assistant coach.’
With what Byron’s made financially as a player and as a coach, I’ve got a feeling he can afford to take time off and ponder what comes next in his life. I mean, he’s only 43 years old … younger than, oh ya, Tom Brady. Maybe he wants to return to playing so that he can unseat Tommy as the oldest starting QB ever. Who knows? That’s why it’s fun to ponder … IF you can afford it. BL can.
March 16th, 2023 at 2:54 pm
Leftwurst hasn’t even been hired in the USFL or XFL, college or high school.
His pest control career is off to a slow start as well. But, he be what he be and do what he do.
Some days you be don’t.
March 16th, 2023 at 3:21 pm
@ DR
True.
Perhaps he just wants to chill.. He has certainly earned that right.
What he didn’t earn though was a second season as an NFL Offensive Coordinator.
I wish him well.
March 16th, 2023 at 3:45 pm
Just think how different last year might have gone if the team had dumped that POS Leftwich after that Pittsburgh game. On that, I do not blame Bowles, I don’t believe for a second he had the power to make any staff changes after getting control of the team on March 30th, 2022.
Man, just think of that, last year at this time we had Brady and Arians.
This year we have Bowles and Trask and Mayfield. How depressing.
March 16th, 2023 at 3:58 pm
Marine Buc … ‘Perhaps he just wants to chill’.
Agree 100%. When times get tough, I’ve found that it usually pays to take the time to figure out what’s really happening, and especially what comes next.
I worked with a fellow retired 06 after I got out of the Air Force (he was Army), and I remember how he’d often talk about how much he loved his career. I especially remember one question that he asked me about retirement because it hit home: ‘What do you do with the rest of your life when you’ve already been all you ever wanted to be?’
That’s how I’d felt about flying fighters (for some reason, no one in the civilian world offered me the opportunity to do that; go figure huh). I’ve long suspected that’s what a lot of top professional athletes feel when they retire. How to ‘move on’ from something that they dearly loved doing IOW. Seems to me that Tom Brady struggled mightily with that, and money had nothing to do with it.
Ultimately we all find ways to ‘reinvent ourselves’ as the need arises, some successfully, some not. I suspect that Tom will, and so will Byron. They’re both survivors.
March 16th, 2023 at 3:59 pm
Worst move…not firing Bowles.
March 16th, 2023 at 4:00 pm
Rod … ‘This year we have Bowles and Trask and Mayfield. How depressing.’
Of course last year we went 8-9 and didn’t win the Super Bowl, so there’s that.
March 16th, 2023 at 4:32 pm
@ DR
100%…
We all have to adjust at times. Being adaptable is a quality that most successful people have.
Improvise. Adapt. Overcome.
Go Bucs!
March 16th, 2023 at 4:41 pm
Steven007 Says:
March 16th, 2023 at 12:14 pm
Marine, it’s always telling when players and coaches you cut or fired are not hired by other organizations.
_____________
Has Donnie been snatched up yet?
March 16th, 2023 at 4:47 pm
@ Doooosh
LOL…
No.
He probably won’t find work until after the draft – if he finds any work at all.
March 16th, 2023 at 5:23 pm
Talking about Leftwich? Like beating a dead horse! Thanks O.J..
March 16th, 2023 at 5:37 pm
And they replaced Leftwich with who?
March 16th, 2023 at 6:01 pm
Just wondering
1. Where is Leftwich coaching this year?
2. Who signed LT Donovsn Smith?
3. Who signed RB Playoff Lenny Fornette,?
4. Who signed WR Julio Jones?
5. Who signed DT Akiem Hicks?
…asking for a friend……
March 16th, 2023 at 6:06 pm
This! (though I fall for it like Pavlov’s dog each and every time)
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“Delusional Intelligence Says:
March 16th, 2023 at 2:25 pm
Todd Bowles has moved on, Jason Licht has moved on, Bruce Arians has moved on, even the GOAT has moved on. For the love of all that is holy and unholy, let it go Joe. Do us all a favor and save the weekly tirades for Mike Smith, even though it would be nice if you could let that go too.”
—————-
Though it’s a quick, easy and mindless way to generate click bait when the Joes run out of ideas for the day or are too tired to write another real story. And we always bite…..
March 16th, 2023 at 7:04 pm
Is this where we go to bash remedial unemployed OC Byron Leftwich?
Just want to make sure I’m in the right meeting room.
March 16th, 2023 at 8:22 pm
If we score more than 18 points a game next year with Mayfield in place of Brady that will tell you pretty much all you need to know.
March 17th, 2023 at 9:43 am
Classless Joe
Who else ya gonna kick while they’re down?…Brate? Ronald Jones? Marpet? Smith?
Tom McEwen is rolling over in his grave.
March 17th, 2023 at 8:16 pm
You fools in Tampa are going to find out that bowels is the problem, not sandwich
March 17th, 2023 at 9:42 pm
Bowels is 11 months from being canned…a waisted year because of that. Tom would probably be here it wasn’t for that. Todd = good guy…Todd= trash HC
March 18th, 2023 at 7:43 am
If we score more than 17 points a game with everyone gone and even Handi-man playing QB this year, I’ma laugh my donkey off at how stupid the missed opp to fire Leftover mid season was. If we do less than 17 a game, I’ll be stumped but I’ll know for sure Toilet Bowls was also a missed opp and we have to fire him spectacularly. Tie him up and make him walk the plank off the Gasparilla into apartment complex sewage spectacular. It’ll expose plainly that the single handedly authored TB12’s worst career season with a star cast. Remember: they were penciled in to go to the SB (laughable now, but it woulda been nice not to lose to Jerry Jones at home at the very least)
March 18th, 2023 at 7:49 am
And all the leftwich Lemmings Fail to realize after Arians left , wonderboy had no clue. So I you can take the Super Bowl win out of the equation because with the same team the offense went to trash.
March 19th, 2023 at 12:02 am
How does everyone know that Canales will be all that much better? I don’t know man.