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Ex Buccaneers Coach Interviews with Patriots

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Timm Hamm | Last updated Jan 8, 2025 2:57 PM ET

As the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are prepping to meet the Washington Commanders in the Wild Card round of this week's NFC playoffs, a former coach is in the news.

Former Buccaneers offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich has reportedly interviewed for the vacant head coaching position with the New England Patriots.

Leftwich is one of two people, along with Pep Hamilton, who reportedly interviewed with the Patriots organization on Tuesday.

The 44-year-old Leftwich served as the Bucs offensive coordinator under head coaches Bruce Arians and Todd Bowles from 2019-22. With Leftwich leading the offense and Tom Brady under center, Tampa Bay won Super Bowl LV after the 2020 season.

The Bucs offense experienced success in 2019, 2020 and 2021 with the Nos. 3, 3 and 2 ranked scoring offenses respectively. In 2022, the Tampa Bay offense fell to No. 15 in yards and No. 25 in points. Leftwich was fired following that season.

The former Marshall University quarterback fell out of the public eyes afterward and was rumored to have turned down the Jacksonville Jaguars head coaching job last season, but refuted that last week on a podcast where he said he was never offered the position.

There are now six vacant head coaching positions in the league, including the Chicago Bears, Patriots, Jacksonville Jaguars, Las Vegas Raiders, New York Jets and New Orleans Saints.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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