Todd Bowles Speaks on Firing of Former Buccaneers' OC Byron Leftwich
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 2022 season didn't quite go as planned. The Buccaneers struggled with consistency through much of the season, crawling to an 8-8 regular season record before being trounced in the wild-card playoff game against the Dallas Cowboys - bringing their season total win/loss to 8-9.
Last season, of course, came with its own challenges as former head coach, Bruce Arians, retired from coaching and entrusted former Jets' head coach and most recently former Bucs' defensive coordinator, Todd Bowles, to take over the head gig for the team.
Arians believed that he was passing the torch seamlessly over to Bowles as he kept the majority of Arians' former staff with who he had built connections/relationships the prior three seasons working as the DC.
READ MORE: Former 7-Time Pro Bowl Bucs Wide Receiver Suggested to Land with Patriots
Following the disappointing season, Bowles had tough decisions to make when it came to who he would keep on staff, which ultimately led to having to let go of some close friends in the process including offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich.
The Buccaneers have since hired a new offensive coordinator in Dave Canales, but during the annual NFL meetings prior to the upcoming season, Bucs' head coach, Todd Bowles, spoke candidly with NFL Network about the firing of his former OC Leftwich.
“We didn’t score enough points and we didn’t run it well, and at times we didn’t throw it well. You want continuity from that standpoint.,” Bowles said. “What we were doing last year really caught up with us a little bit.”
Bowles continued on stating that Leftwich wasn't fired without cause, but ultimately acknowledge that everything starts and ends with the head coach - placing the blame upon himself.
“It’s not all coaches, it’s players as well. It starts with me. And when you see something wrong, you have to try and fix it. I’ve been with those guys a long time, so it was a tough decision. But I felt the change had to be made, and I made the changes that way,” Bowles said.
READ MORE: Buccaneers Select Top Running Back Prospect in ESPN's Latest 1st Round Mock Draft
Bowles' head coaching career up to this point has been looked at as somewhat of a failure thanks to his tenure with the New York Jets. Now, in his second attempt at being a successful head coach in the NFL, Bowles will look to right the ship sans Tom Brady and work on getting the most continuity out of both his coaching staff and players in his second season as the Buccaneers' head man.
Stick with BucsGameday for more coverage of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers throughout the 2023 offseason.
