“Don’t know what happened in Tampa”: Shannon Sharpe left baffled after Tom Brady’s ex-coach decides to join Coach Prime & Co
Coach Prime has done a fine job at Colorado in his two seasons with the program, which has attracted players and coaches alike. Despite losing some of his key players in this year's NFL draft, Deion Sanders has reportedly added former NFL quarterback Byron Leftwich to his coaching staff at CU.
Leftwich was the offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2019 to 2022 and worked with legendary quarterback Tom Brady when the franchise won the Super Bowl in 2021. On Tuesday's episode of "Nightcap" podcast, former NFL stars turned analysts Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson discussed Leftwich's decision to join Sanders at Colorado.
"Former Bucs offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich is joining Colorado's coaching staff," Sharpe said. "I don't know what happened in Tampa because he went from a guy who had an opportunity to get a head coaching job to being out of the league."
"If you notice, every other offensive coordinator that has coached Tom Brady, what has he got in the NFL? A head coaching job."
Leftwich played 10 years in the league as a quarterback. He was part of the Pittsburgh Steelers team that won the Super Bowl in 2009.
Following his playing career, Leftwich ventured into coaching. He was a coaching intern with the Arizona Cardinals in 2016, before spending two years as the team's quarterbacks coach. Leftwich was the Cardinals' interim offensive coordinator in 2018 and he joined the Buccaneers' coaching staff in 2019.
Now, Leftwich will focus on helping Deion Sanders develop quarterbacks at Colorado, as the team prepares for life after Shedeur Sanders.
Coach Prime says Colorado will be even better in the 2025 season
At the Big 12 Pro Day, Coach Prime said that the Colorado Buffaloes will be even better in the 2025 season, despite losing the likes of Shedeur Sanders, Travis Hunter and Shilo Sanders in the NFL draft.
“I’m like a DJ, The record keep playing, baby," Deion said on NFL Network. "Just because we change the song, we've gotta keep playing. ... We've got some young men, they might not be Shedeur, Shilo, or Travis, or any of the guys that played phenomenal for us, especially those receivers, but I don't think, I know, we're gonna have a better team."
CU hired Sanders in December 2022, and Coach Prime has led the program to a 13-12 record across two seasons. His team posted a 9-4 record last season.