The Jacksonville Jaguars appear to be closing in on hiring their next head coach.
Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network reports that the Jaguars have been discussing contract terms with Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich. Jaguars owner Shad Khan and other team executives met with Leftwich for roughly eight hours on Tuesday night. The two sides are expected to come to an agreement “barring an unexpected breakdown.”
Leftwich has been viewed as a logical candidate for the Jaguars job since the team fired Urban Meyer. The former quarterback was drafted by Jacksonville in the first round back in 2003 and started 44 games for the Jags. He has spent the last two seasons working with Tom Brady, which has boosted his résumé significantly. The Jaguars are searching for a coach who can help develop Trevor Lawrence, so it makes sense that they have reportedly chosen Leftwich.
At least one top candidate is said to have turned down the Jaguars. The good news for Leftwich or whoever else Jacksonville hires is that things can’t get much worse than they were under Meyer.
Leftwich, 44, has no previous head-coaching experience. He began his NFL coaching career as a quarterbacks coach with the Arizona Cardinals in 2017. He was then promoted to interim offensive coordinator in 2018, and Bruce Arians hired him as Tampa Bay’s offensive coordinator in 2019.
More must-reads: