Shannon Sharpe claims Byron Leftwich was victim of Tom Brady’s failures
Byron Leftwich was let go as the offensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a role he held for four seasons with the franchise.
Leftwich was fired after the Buccaneers' season ended in the Wild Card round, losing to the Dallas Cowboys at home. Many fans and analysts blamed Leftwich, who played nine seasons in the NFL as a quarterback, for the Buccaneers' offense this season.
However, Shannon Sharpe commented that Leftwich was the scapegoat as Tom Brady was more at fault for the team's offensive woes. On the show Undisputed, the Hall of Fame tight end didn't hold back on his thoughts on Leftwich's dismissal as the Buccaneers' offensive coordinator.
Sharpe said:
"If Tom Brady doesn’t succeed, it’s always got to be someone else’s fault. This is some bulljive."
"If Tom Brady doesn’t succeed, it’s always got to be someone else’s fault. This is some bulljive."
@ShannonSharpe on the Buccaneers firing OC Byron Leftwich https://t.co/KPLPUiszrT
In the 2022 season, the offense for the Buccaneers struggled at times, seeing some major drop-offs from the last two seasons.
Here's a comparison of Tampa Bay's offense since Tom Brady joined the team ahead of the 2020 season and its rank in the NFL that season:
One stat to note that's missing is rushing yards per game because they ranked near the bottom of the league each season in this category. In the 2020 and 2021 seasons, they finished 25th and 26th in rushing yards per game, respectively. This season, they were last in the NFL with just 75.6 yards per game.
Based on these numbers, there's a clear gap in points per game and yards per game from last season. For Byron Leftwich, the lack of production cost him his job, but there were rumors of tension between him and Brady.
Did Tom Brady want Byron Leftwich gone last season?
The Buccaneers privately hoped Leftwich would be hired as head coach last season, as per former NFL quarterback Brady Quinn. Quinn also noted that Brady preferred that Leftwich would leave, mostly because he figured he would have a bigger say in the offense.
Quinn said:
"From what I’ve heard, they were hoping maybe Byron Leftwich would get a head coaching job so Brady could have more control over things as far as playcalling goes."
"He hasn’t been overly impressed with that. So maybe that’s part of it; there’s some frustration there [with Leftwich playcalling]."
Byron Leftwich's firing doesn't guarantee that Tom Brady will return next season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Let's see if the firing does sway Brady's decision for a fourth season with the Buccaneers.
If you use any of the above quotes, please credit Undisputed, Sportsnaut, and H/T Sportskeeda.