Head Coach in Waiting: Buccaneers' Bruce Arians Shines Light on Byron Leftwich

It's easy to get lost in the bright lights of Arians and Tom Brady, but Leftwich is the real hero, according to the former head coach.

During his time as the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Bruce Arians wasn't afraid to call people out when he felt they deserved it. 

Players and officials were the usual targets of his disdain when it came out. 

But he also spread the love. Well, to players and coaches, anyway. 

One of those coaches, offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich, might be the most undervalued Super Bowl-winning play-callers in the league. 

Something Arians hopes to see change in 2022.

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"I get credit and Brady gets way too much credit for what Byron does with our offense," Arians said in an interview with Arizona Sports 98.7. "One of the reasons I hope he gets all the credit he deserves this year is to get a coaching gig."

Arians went on to say there were about a handful of teams interested in potentially hiring Leftwich to be their head coach in the 2022 offseason, but ultimately he returned to Tampa to coordinate the Bucs offense for at least one more year. 

From public reports, it seemed Leftwich was closest to landing the Jacksonville Jaguars job following the dismissal of tragically inept head coach Urban Meyer. 

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Disputes over some terms and the organizational leadership in place appeared to derail any hopes of Leftwich returning to the franchise he began his NFL career, and not much smoke became publicly aware afterward. 

While Leftwich's first official coaching job came under Arizona Cardinals head coach Steve Wilks, it was Arians who first brought the former NFL quarterback on as an intern, in 2016.

For more on this and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers check out James Yarcho and David Harrison on the Locked On Bucs Podcast!