The Steelers need to look into the possibility of Byron Leftwich coming to Pittsburgh to join the coaching staff.
News broke recently that Bryon Leftwich is out of a job after being fired by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This comes after being a Head Coach candidate for many jobs around the league just one year prior. He has been one of the more heralded offensive coordinators in the NFL since he took the job, even though this year was a bad outlier.
Other news just recently broke as well that reported Matt Canada will be retained as the Steelers offensive coordinator in 2023. Some rumors started to swirl that Leftwich could supplant Canada as the new offensive coordinator, but that did not become the case. Instead, Canada has his job and Leftwich is looking for his next opportunity in the coaching ranks.
Leftwich would bring good experience as a coach for the Steelers
Pittsburgh should be on the phone trying to get this coach onto their staff one way or another. He is a young mind in the NFL and has a lot of ties with Pittsburgh. Leftwich started off with the Jacksonville Jaguars in his playing days as a quarterback before joining the Steelers. He would back up Ben Roethlisberger for many years and win a Super Bowl ring in the process.
From there, Leftwich got the coaching bug and started his resume in the desert. He rose up the ranks with the Arizona Cardinals before Bruce Arians took the top job with the Bucs as their Head Coach. Arians was Leftwich’s offensive coordinator during his time in Pittsburgh. The connection made sense and it would make a ton of sense for this former Steelers member to return at some capacity to this staff.
There might not be too many options for Byron Leftwich this offseason
Being downgraded in a new job is nothing someone wants to do, but in the cut-throat world of coaching, it is almost mandatory. Coaching is a tough profession to get into, and you need a special person willing to get back up when they get knocked down. Leftwich is still a young coach and has a lot of good things in front of him, which could lead to a potential top job for a club at some point.
You cannot deny the connections that he has with the Steelers organization. Mike Tomlin is not afraid to reach out to certain people and see what their employment status outlook might be. Coach Tomlin was willing to see what Brian Flores situation looked like last offseason and Pittsburgh was able to bring him in for a position.
It is not crazy to think that Leftwich could be in the same boat that Flores was in last year. They have major differences in their circumstances during their firing process, but both are similar in looking for new gigs without many options out there. Tomlin would be wise to see if his former backup quarterback would be willing to take an assistant coach position of some kind for this upcoming season.
Would provide an in-house offensive coordinator option for Steelers after this season
Canada is back for the 2023 season, but that does not mean you cannot provide some internal competition for a coaching spot. This offensive coordinator should not feel completely comfortable about his job security no matter what kind of situation he walks into come pre-season time. He has not been a good coordinator overall since he took the position a couple of years ago.
Bringing in a person like Leftwich would make Canada’s seat hotter and could potentially make everyone a better coach. It could also just bring a lot of drama that many people are tired of seeing around the Steelers. Overall, a hire of Leftwich in any role would provide some different ideas to an offensive staff that is lacking in creativity. There could still be some turnover in the coaching staff, which could provide an opening for this potential hire to take over.
If all else fails with Pittsburgh’s current play caller, they could always cut bait during the regular season. Having Leftwich would allow for him to take over the play-calling duties on offense and get a shot to show what he could do at the helm. Tomlin loves to hire from within the organization and hiring Leftwich could provide him another opportunity if they move on from Canada between now and the conclusion of next year.
The Steelers should be on the phone talking to Byron Leftwich right now. He had a down year in Tampa Bay, but he could flourish under a smaller role to start with the black and gold.