Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Byron Leftwich will reportedly remove himself from consideration for Jaguars job

Byron Leftwich will return to his position as offensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and remove himself from consideration for the Jacksonville Jaguars' head coaching vacancy, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times.

Leftwich, 42, was reportedly close to becoming the Jaguars' head coach last week, but hesitated to finalize the deal because he didn't want to work with general manager Trent Baalke. Multiple reports indicated Leftwich wanted the Jaguars to replace Baalke with the Arizona Cardinals' vice president of pro scouting Adrian Wilson.

 Despite the Jaguars finishing with the worst record in the NFL in consecutive seasons, and hundreds of fans protesting Baalke sticking as general manager, the team has seemingly stood by its decision to retain the executive. 

According to Jaguars insider Eric Dillard, Leftwich told the team Tuesday, Jan. 25 that it had a Thursday, Feb. 3 deadline to make a decision or he'd remove himself from consideration.

Leftwich was a first-round pick of the Jaguars in 2003 and spent four seasons as the team's starting quarterback. After finishing his playing career in 2012, Leftwich joined the coaching ranks with the Cardinals in 2016 and has spent the last three seasons with the Buccaneers.

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