The Pittsburgh Steelers offense in 2008 was in Ben Roethlisberger's hands. He was entering his fifth NFL season, had won the Rookie of the Year in 2004, and made his first Pro Bowl in 2007. It was also his first season since his rookie year without Charlie Batch to back him up. The veteran backup broke his clavicle in the preseason against the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Steelers needed a reliable answer behind Roethlisberger. The future Hall of Fame quarterback’s play style often led to injuries and Dennis Dixon was not the answer. The Steelers turned to a former starting quarterback from the Jacksonville Jaguars, Byron Leftwich. He had 46 career starts under his belt and a 24-22 record as a starting quarterback in the NFL.
Leftwich played well during the 2008 season in relief of Roethlisberger and earned a Super Bowl Ring. After one season, he departed for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, hoping to win the starting job. When it did not pan out, he returned to the Steelers from 2010 to 2012. He retired from playing in the NFL after the 2012 season.
The former two-time MAC Offensive Player of the Year sat out of football for nearly four years. In 2016, former Steelers Offensive Coordinator, Bruce Arians, who was now the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals, hired Leftwich as a coaching intern. After one season he was promoted to be the quarterbacks coach.
Arians retired following the 2017 season and the new Head Coach, Steve Wilks promoted him to offensive coordinator during a lost season. Leftwich was fired after Wilks was let go at the end of a miserable 3-13 campaign. The Cardinals had thrown the baby out with the bath water for the umpteenth time in their history and Arians knew it.
The former Steelers coordinator came out of retirement less than two weeks later to take on the challenge of coaching the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Arians had failed to achieve his goal of winning a Super Bowl as a head coach and decided he would take one more shot at it with Tampa Bay.
He explained to ESPN what drew him to the job.
“I wouldn’t have taken the job if it wasn’t for General Manager, Jason Licht,” Arians told ESPN. “And I probably wouldn’t have taken the job if Byron Leftwich wasn’t available.”
The second time was the charm for Leftwich. He and Arians worked well together and designed a highly effective offense. Jameis Winston, the former number one pick in the NFL draft had his finest campaign with Leftwich as the signal-caller. He threw for over 5,000 yards and 33 touchdowns. Unfortunately, he also threw 30 interceptions and was shown the door.
In 2020, Tom Brady came to Tampa Bay. Arians chops as an offensive mind were not in question, but Leftwich was another matter entirely. After an amazing 2020 season that delivered a Super Bowl to the Buccaneers, Brady and Arians got much of the credit for the victory. Leftwich, despite being the winning coordinator on a Super Bowl team, did not get any interviews for a head coaching position.
After they lost in the divisional round of the 2021 season, the seeds of dissension between Brady and Arians grew into another “retirement” for Arians. The 2021 offseason was very different for Leftwich. He received significant interest from several teams, including the one that originally drafted him: the Jacksonville Jaguars.
It was rumored locally in Jacksonville that the job was his if he wanted it. Ultimately, he turned down the opportunity to work with Trevor Lawrence to come back for one more year with Brady. It was a bad decision.
Brady finally looked old in 2022. He mustered up some magic and threw for 4,694 yards and 25 touchdowns, but the offense was stagnant. The running game was awful, and they lost to the Dallas Cowboys in the first round of the playoffs after winning the NFC South by default with an 8-9 record. Brady retired, and Todd Bowles fired Leftwich as his offensive coordinator.
Steelers Insider Predicts Team Will Bring In Byron Leftwich To Tutor Kenny Pickett
NFL training camps are beginning this week and Leftwich does not have a job. Many Steelers fans had hoped that the current Offensive Coordinator, Matt Canada would be fired after the season. It did not happen because Canada still has one year remaining on his contract. Pittsburgh does not pay coaches not to work and the offense did just enough at the end of the season to internally merit keeping Canada.
The Steelers have a habit of promoting from within, but it is unlikely that Mike Sullivan is the next man up. Mike Tomlin likes to promote from within, but without significant offensive progress he might not get the opportunity. It is hard to imagine a better coordinator being available with NFL experience. Leftwich learned his craft from Arians and has proven his ability as an NFL play-caller.
The Steelers and their fans have to hope that Canada succeeds in 2023. Anything less means they have wasted a year of Kenny Pickett's rookie contract. It should also prompt a demand from Art Rooney II that Tomlin hires an offensive coach who is not on the current staff. Leftwich could be the perfect bridge between the two. He played for Tomlin and a ran viable NFL offense that recently won a Super Bowl.
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