Buccaneers co-owner defends fired OC Byron Leftwich

Tampa Bay Buccaneers co-owner Joel Glazer has come to the defense of former offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich after he was unceremoniously shown the door in January. 

"Byron helped lead us to a Super Bowl championship," Glazer told the JoeBucsFan website. "You know how sports is — whenever you don’t get the results everyone was hoping for, some people want to start looking in one area or another area." 

With Tom Brady serving as his starting quarterback, Leftwich helped the Buccaneers win Super Bowl LV in February 2021 and make three straight playoff appearances. Former head coach Bruce Arians repeatedly credited Leftwich for the franchise's successes, but the retired signal-caller found himself in a unique situation when Arians surprisingly stepped down from his position in late March of last year. 

Defensive coordinator Todd Bowles was promoted to Arians' old gig, and the Tampa Bay offense routinely struggled to produce positive results throughout the fall under the combination of Bowles and Leftwich. According to ESPN, the Buccaneers finished last season 25th in scoring with an average of 18.4 points per game and dead last with an average of 76.9 rushing yards per contest. 

Tampa Bay parted ways with Leftwich and five other assistants shortly after the 31-14 playoff loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Arians, now a senior advisor with the organization, later said he was "extremely unhappy" over those coaching moves. 

"I never think it’s fair when anybody points to one person," Glazer added about Leftwich. "It’s a team game, a team effort and team result. Our record is our team record and doesn’t just fall on one person."

Former Seattle Seahawks quarterbacks coach Dave Canales was ultimately hired as Leftwich's replacement. Canales will be tasked with getting the best out of both Baker Mayfield and 2021 second-round draft pick Kyle Trask as they compete for the right to become Tampa Bay's new QB1 following Brady's retirement.