Bucs Expected To Fire OC Leftwich

Now that the Bucs’ 2022 season has come to a close following Tampa Bay’s 31-14 loss to Dallas in the Wild Card round of the playoffs, Pewter Report is reporting that the team is expected to fire offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich.

This move has been anticipated by Pewter Report for some time. The Bucs offense generated 386 yards against Dallas, but only ran the ball for 52 yards as Tampa Bay fell behind early and trailed 18-0 at halftime. More importantly, the Bucs offense produced only 14 points after trailing Dallas, 24-0 in the third quarter.

Tampa Bay won the NFC South despite averaging just 18.4 points per game in the regular season, which was the lowest in the division.

Todd Bowles, who will return as the Bucs’ head coach in 2023, inherited Bruce Arians’ coaching staff when he stepped down on March 30 and named Tampa Bay’s defensive coordinator as his replacement. Now, Bowles will have the chance to make a change at play-caller after the Bucs’ offense ranked 25th in the NFL in scoring this year.

Bucs’ Points Per Game Fell Mightily Under Leftwich

Leftwich has been the team’s play-caller since the 2019 season when he worked with quarterback Jameis Winston. Tom Brady replaced Winston at quarterback in 2020 and helped lead the Bucs to a victory in Super Bowl LV. The Bucs averaged 30.8 points per game in 2020, which ranked second in the league.