Shortly after news broke that the Seattle Seahawks had scheduled Minnesota Vikings assistant Grant Udinski for a second interview to discuss their offensive coordinator vacancy on Friday, an unexpected candidate emerged from the woodwork.
In a separate post on X, CBS insider Jonathan Jones reported the Seahawks had recently spoke with former Buccaneers offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich about the position, throwing his hat in the ring with hopes of landing a play calling gig after being out of the league for the past two seasons.
From a fit standpoint, Seattle’s interest in Leftwich creates plenty of questions. Beyond the fact he hasn’t coached in two years, his offense hasn’t mirrored the ones in Detroit and Baltimore, two organizations that coach Mike Macdonald holds in high regard and would love to emulate in terms of physicality and toughness on that side of the ball.
However, if the Seahawks want to bring a proven play caller with a strong resume headlined by a Super Bowl ring on board, Leftwich stacks up favorably against Kubiak and the rest of the candidates the team has interviewed thus far.
Previously playing quarterback in the NFL for nine seasons with the Jaguars, Buccaneers, Falcons, and Steelers after a standout college career at Marshall, Leftwich only has seven seasons of coaching experience under his belt. But under the tutelage of coach Bruce Arians, he quickly emerged as one of the best young assistants in the sport, climbing from an intern to an offensive coordinator position in just three seasons.
Though Leftwich’s first audition as a coordinator did not go well when thrust into the position midway through a dreadful three-win season for the Cardinals in 2018, he reunited with Arians in Tampa Bay the following season and engineered the second-ranked scoring offense despite quarterback Jameis Winston’s propensity for throwing interceptions. A leaky defense led to a 7-9 finish, but the foundation had been set for great success with an upgrade under center.
Fortunately for the Buccaneers, a certain legend by the name of Tom Brady became a free agent and replaced Winston, leading the team to a Super Bowl win in 2020 while excelling in Leftwich’s scheme. They didn’t quite repeat the following season, but still had a top-three offense and went 13-4 in the regular season behind a potent passing attack featuring Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.
That success didn’t carry over into Leftwich’s final season with the franchise though. With injuries hitting the team and an aging Brady finally losing some steam in the battle against Father Time, the Buccaneers plunged to 25th in scoring offense and lost in the wild card round, leading to his dismissal as coordinator only a few days later.
Since then, Leftwich hasn’t been employed by an NFL team in any capacity, and to this point, the Seahawks have been the only team to speak with him this coaching cycle. Looking at his prior track record, there’s a few possible reasons for that lack of interest around the league.
For one, as successful as Leftwich building an explosive passing game, the Buccaneers never had even a decent run game during his four years as play caller, finishing 24th or worse in rushing each season. This included plummeting to dead last in 2021, which played a big part of the team’s overall regression from a top-five offense into a bottom third unit in scoring that led to his firing.
Second, most of the teams seeking an offensive coordinator such as the Bears, Patriots, and Raiders have a young quarterback already in place or will be looking to draft and develop one. Leftwich has only worked with a starting quarterback on a rookie deal once in his coaching career and while they only were paired together for one season, Josh Rosen didn’t pan out under his watch with the Cardinals.
Of those two issues, Leftwich’s inability to orchestrate a quality ground game mirrors what led to Grubb being dismissed after his lone season as Seattle’s play caller. If Macdonald truly wants an offense built around toughness, physicality, and complementary football, hiring him as the replacement would seem counterintuitive.
But looking at the Seahawks current personnel, Leftwich’s history of coordinating elite passing attacks at the NFL level – something Grubb had only done in college – undoubtedly creates some intrigue about what he could cook up in the Pacific Northwest. He would inherit a talented veteran quarterback in Geno Smith along with receivers DK Metcalf and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, giving him a fun trio to implement his scheme with.
It’s also worth noting that Tampa Bay didn’t have the running back talent that Seattle currently has on the roster during Leftwich’s time with the team either. While Ronald Jones and Leonard Fournette provided a bit of a spark during the Super Bowl-winning season, they didn’t have a single 1,000-yard rusher in those four seasons and the duo of Ken Walker III and Zach Charbonnet would provide a better opportunity for him to build a more balanced offense.
Of course, as will be the case with any of the candidates in consideration, the success of the next coordinator will depend a great deal on what the Seahawks do this offseason to shore up their offensive line. If the group remains as leaky as it was in pass protection and ineffective generating push in the run game, it won’t matter how creative the play caller is when it comes to scheming up ways to get the ball to his playmakers.
But for those discounting Leftwich’s candidacy, he has Super Bowl pedigree and by all accounts, players loved working with him during his tenure in Tampa Bay. While the run game concerns have validity, especially after the failed Grubb experiment, he could be the best option to get the most out of Smith and his veteran receivers with the window to compete in the NFC West currently open, making him a sleeper to watch as interviews continue.
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With the recent departure of Seattle Seahawks’ offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, the team is in need of a new play-caller to lead their offense. While there have been several names circulating as potential candidates for the job, one dark horse candidate that has emerged is Byron Leftwich.
Leftwich, currently the offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, has been garnering attention for his work with quarterback Tom Brady and the Buccaneers’ high-powered offense. Despite being relatively young and inexperienced in comparison to other candidates, Leftwich’s offensive acumen and ability to develop young quarterbacks could make him an attractive option for the Seahawks.
While there has been no official confirmation of Leftwich’s candidacy for the job, his name has been mentioned among the potential candidates being considered by the Seahawks. With his track record of success and potential to bring a fresh perspective to Seattle’s offense, Leftwich could very well be the dark horse candidate to land the Seahawks’ offensive coordinator job.
Stay tuned for updates on the Seahawks’ search for a new offensive coordinator and whether Byron Leftwich emerges as the frontrunner for the position.
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