NFL Rumors: Byron Leftwich Expected to Be Fired as Bucs OC After Loss to Cowboys

Following a disappointing season that was capped off by a 31-14 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Wild Card Game, Byron Leftwich's tenure as offensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is reportedly coming to an end.

Per Scott Reynolds of PewterReport.com, the Bucs are expected to fire Leftwich after four seasons.

Coming into this season, Leftwich earned rave reviews for his play calling with the Bucs when Bruce Arians was head coach.

Eric Eager of Pro Football Focus ranked Leftwich as the third-best play-caller in the NFL coming into this season, behind Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid and Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore:

"Leftwich, who did not get a head coaching job in the offseason, had another good year in 2021, leading Tampa Bay to the league's second-most points and the league's highest yards per play mark on offense, much of which came without wideouts Chris Godwin and Antonio Brown, among others. Most people will—and probably rightfully so—give a significant portion of that credit to quarterback Tom Brady, but Brady has had to learn a new offense in Tampa Bay, and Leftwich is a big reason why that transition has flourished."

After Arians stepped down in March, Leftwich remained on staff as offensive coordinator with new head coach Todd Bowles.

Among the criticisms levied at Leftwich were his thoughts on using play-action and not finding answers in the running game to ease some of the pressure on Tom Brady and the passing game.

Speaking to reporters in November, Leftwich equated needing to have a successful running game in order for play-action passing to work.

"We've got to do a better job of running it, right?" he said. "There's no such thing as play-action pass without running it [well] enough for it to be true. We've got to play better across the board. We can run it better–I can call it better."

Steve Palazzolo of Pro Football Focus noted at the time that Tampa Bay had the fourth-highest EPA per play when using play-action, despite using it at one of the lowest rates in the league.

The Bucs were the only team this season to average fewer than 80 rushing yards per game. Their 76.9 yards per game were the fewest by any team since the 2019 Miami Dolphins (72.3).

Per Football Outsiders' DVOA, the Buccaneers ranked 16th this season. They finished 25th in points scored and were held under 20 points in 11 of 18 games, including the playoffs.

Leftwich moved into the coaching ranks on Arians' staff with the Arizona Cardinals in 2016. He remained with the team for one season as interim offensive coordinator in 2018 after Arians retired.

When Arians returned to the NFL in 2019 as the Bucs' head coach, Leftwich was hired as offensive coordinator. The offense finished in the top three in points scored in each of his first three seasons.