Jaguars Head Coach Search: Saints Don't Set Up Interview With Byron Leftwich
The Jacksonville Jaguars' search for Urban Meyer's replacement seems to be turned upside down on itself with each passing day.
This continued on Monday with reports of the Jaguars interviewing former Las Vegas Raiders interim head coach and special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia, but an added twist came from a fellow team conducting their own head coach search.
While no team in the NFL has had the dysfunctional and overall sloppy search for a head coach the Jaguars have had, there have been other openings that have looked at the same candidates the Jaguars have. Such is the case with Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich, whose only options at this point have appeared to be with the Jaguars, staying in Tampa Bay, or gaining traction in the New Orleans Saints' search for a head coach.
But despite reports nearly a week ago of the Saints putting in a formal request to speak to Leftwich, the Jaguars head coach candidate and former quarterback has yet to arrange such an interview with the Saints.
This remained the case on Monday, with NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reporting the Saints scheduled a number of interviews this week -- four to be exact. The interviews consist of speaking to Doug Pederson, Brian Flores, Aaron Glenn, and Dennis Allen ... but not Leftwich, who there hasn't been much of an update on at all over the last week.
The Leftwich saga has been a whirlwind to this point. The team's brass had a positive second interview with him on Tuesday in Tampa Bay, but Leftwich has yet to be named head coach as other coaches such as Nathaniel Hackett and Matt Eberflus have been hired by Denver and Chicago.
Mike Jurecki of AZCardinals.com reported Thursday that the Jaguars were close to hiring Leftwich as head coach and Arizona Cardinals exec Adrian Wilson as general manager, but nothing has since transpired on that front over 24 hours later, either.
If Leftwich was closing the door on the Jaguars, one could presume either the request to interview him would have already been in the works, or he would have announced he was returning to Tampa Bay. Either way, there is no clarity on the Jaguars' head coach position, and Leftwich's unclear future doesn't help.
Leftwich spent four seasons with the Jaguars after being selected in the first round of the 2003 NFL Draft. Leftwich's tenure with the Jaguars was a short one that ended in him being replaced at quarterback by David Garrard, but Leftwich made a strong impression on teammates both in and outside of Jacksonville throughout his playing career.
After a playing career that saw him spend time with the Falcons, Buccaneers, and Steelers, Leftwich was hired by Arians during the 2016 training camp to assist with coaching the Cardinals' quarterbacks, before eventually being hired as the team's full-time quarterbacks coach the next year. Leftwich was retained in his role by new head coach Steve Wilks in 2018, eventually being promoted to interim offensive coordinator following the firing of Mike McCoy.
After Wilks was fired following the 2018 season, Leftwich again reunited with Arians as Arians became the head coach of the Buccaneers after a year away from coaching. Leftwich was named Arians' offensive coordinator and was given play-calling duties as the Buccaneers saw Jameis Winston break every major franchise passing record in 2019.
Leftwich remained in his role the next two seasons as Winston was replaced by Tom Brady, with Brady going on to break all of the offensive records Winston set the year before as Tampa Bay marched toward a Super Bowl title. Since Leftwich's first year, the Buccaneer's offensive DVOA has improved year, going from No. 23, to No. 3, to No. 1 in 2021.
Tampa Bay lost 30-27 to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Divisonal Round. Other candidates the Jaguars have interviewed to this point consist of Bill O'Brien, Jim Caldwell, Doug Pederson, Kellen Moore, and Todd Bowles, though none have yet been given a second interview by the Jaguars.
