Buccaneers Win, NFL Misses Out as Leftwich, Bowles Return to Tampa Bay
The 2022 NFL head coaching carousel has, finally, ceased to spin. All but one of the nine teams with a vacancy entering the offseason has hired their new on-field leader, with one club waiting to finalize their candidate's hiring following the Super Bowl.
Those hirings are as follows, in chronological order:
- Chicago Bears: Matt Eberflus
- Denver Broncos: Nathaniel Hackett
- New York Giants: Brian Daboll
- Las Vegas Raiders: Josh McDaniels
- Minnesota Vikings: Kevin O'Connell (expected)
- Jacksonville Jaguars: Doug Pederson
- Miami Dolphins: Mike McDaniel
- Houston Texans: Lovie Smith
- New Orleans Saints: Dennis Allen
Not to discredit the nine coaches who earned a promotion, but notice two respected, qualified candidates who interviewed for numerous jobs since the conclusion of the 2021 campaign did not make the list. Those coaches would be Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich and defensive coordinator Todd Bowles.
And that's a shame. For several reasons, ranging from simple to what should be simple but unfortunately isn't.
On the field, Leftwich and Bowles have managed some of the NFL's best offenses and defenses over the last two seasons.
The Bucs' offense particularly took off in 2021 under Leftwich, as Tom Brady led the league in passing yards (5,316) and touchdowns (43) at 44 years old, propping Tampa Bay up as the No. 1 passing offense and No. 1 scoring offense.
Of course, the year prior, Brady and Co.'s performance played a massive part in the Buccaneers' Super Bowl LV victory.
And even before Brady joined the Bucs, Leftwich guided Jameis Winston to the most productive season of his NFL career. The results weren't perfect as Winston tossed 30 interceptions and the Bucs won seven games, but Winston also threw for 5,109 yards and 33 touchdowns, ranking No. 1 and No. 2 in the league in those categories respectively.
Leftwich may only have five years of coaching experience (beginning his career with the Arizona Cardinals for two seasons), but he's found success and his offenses have improved almost every season that he's been in the business. And you have to consider his background as a ten-year NFL quarterback, which stands out on his résumé as teams tend to look for offensive-minded head coaches in the modern NFL.
Bowles, meanwhile, has coached the Buccaneers' defense into one of the best in the NFL in recent years, following years of middling play, at best. The Bucs' rushing defense "regressed" in 2021 compared to the two seasons prior — from No. 1 in the NFL two years in a row to No. 3 in the league this year. It remained a dominant unit, even as injuries piled up across the defense.
The Buccaneers' passing defense could have been better, ranking No. 21 in yards allowed, although the unit ranked No. 8 in interceptions (17). But, again, injuries were a massive issue for the unit in 2021.
The typical starting secondary didn't play as a whole until Week 11, Jason Pierre-Paul dealt with a nagging shoulder wound all season long, every starter other than Ndamukong Suh, William Gholston and Devin White missed at least one game, and three starters were at one point placed on the injured reserve, along with four backups.
Whereas, a year ago when the unit was at full strength, it shut the usually dominant Kansas City Chiefs' offense down in the Super Bowl, forcing Patrick Mahomes into two interceptions and putting him under constant pressure.
Bowles is also an intriguing candidate because he has experience in the position. His four years (2015-18) as the New York Jets' head coach didn't go smoothly, but in fairness, what was a nice roster (which went 10-6 in Bowles' first year) crumbled quickly and New York opted, since then, for two fresh starts at head coach.
When it comes to on-field qualifications, Leftwich and Bowles were as prepared for a head coaching gig in 2022 as any other candidate in the field. Off the field, teams across the league missed out on an opportunity to express that diversity matters when hiring head coaches.
The NFL is currently attempting to prop open an umbrella to cover itself a public relations downpour, as it responds to a class-action lawsuit filed by former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores featuring allegations of race discrimination in the league's hiring practices.
Following their two immensely successful seasons in charge of the Buccaneers' offense and defense, Leftwich and Bowles were arguably two of the most qualified candidates available to fill head coaching vacancies this offseason.
In fact, the two would have been sensical hires in the 2021 coaching cycle as well, as seven teams had openings and all of them hired first-time NFL head coaches. Two of those coaches, Urban Meyer (Jacksonville) and David Culley (Houston), have already been let go from their duties.
Five of the seven coaches hired a year ago were caucasian, and seven of the nine hired this year are as well.
Leftwich and Bowles both offered NFL teams the chance to prove they take the hiring of minority coaches seriously, as qualified and perhaps top-tier candidates, but instead, the majority (75 percent) of the hires over the last two years have been white, three of which were second-chance hires.
In the end, teams in need of a new head coach missed out on two ideal candidates from Tampa Bay, both of whom could have helped change the narrative around the NFL's discriminative hiring tendencies. This is now a two-year trend, and if there are any winners here, it's the Buccaneers, who gladly will welcome their successful coordinators back for a fourth season with the team.
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