TAMPA, Fla. — Byron Leftwich has been fired as offensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a person with knowledge of the dismissal told the Associated Press on Thursday.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the Bucs haven’t announced the decision, which came three days after the Bucs were eliminated from the playoffs by the Dallas Cowboys and just two years after Leftwich helped Tom Brady win the quarterback’s seventh Super Bowl title.
Leftwich held the position for four seasons, joining the Bucs when Bruce Arians was hired as coach in 2019. He interviewed for several head coaching openings after the Bucs set a franchise record for regular-season wins in 2021, but fell into disfavor this season when Tampa Bay scored 18.4 points per game after averaging over 30 the previous two seasons.
Brady set a league record with 490 completions and finished third in the league in passing yards behind Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert, however he also attempted a career-high 756 passes due to the absence of a running game.
RAVENS: Greg Roman is leaving Baltimore after four seasons as offensive coordinator for other opportunities after the Ravens’ wild-card loss.
Roman’s agency, Athletes First, announced his decision before a Ravens news conference with Coach John Harbaugh and General Manager Eric DeCosta.
“Greg devised and led our offense to no fewer than 26 historical NFL and franchise achievements,” Harbaugh said in a statement. “He established an identity for our offense. We are grateful for Greg’s great work and abilities, and we wish him and his wonderful family the utmost happiness going forward.”
Roman took over as the Ravens’ offensive coordinator in 2019 working with Lamar Jackson. That year Roman was honored as The Associated Press Assistant Coach of the Year with Jackson as the NFL’s unanimous MVP. With Jackson playing, the Ravens went 39-15 with Roman as coordinator.
But the Ravens averaged just 13.6 points over their final six games with Jackson out with an injured knee before losing in the wild-card round to Cincinnati.
VIKINGS: The Minnesota Vikings fired defensive coordinator Ed Donatell, an unsurprising decision on the veteran coach after a dismal finish by his defense.
The Vikings ranked second worst in yards allowed in the NFL and fourth worst in points allowed during the regular season. They gave up 431 yards and 31 points to the New York Giants in their wild-card round loss last week.
COMMANDERS: Assistant running backs coach Jennifer King will coach the position for the Senior Bowl.
King, who became the first Black female assistant position coach in NFL history after the 2020 season, will coach the National team running backs, the Senior Bowl announced.
King will work with National running backs including Chase Brown (Illinois), Evan Hull (Northwestern), Roschon Johnson (Texas) and Camerun Peoples (Appalachian State) at the game for NFL prospects on Feb. 4.
King was promoted from a full-year intern position to become the NFL’s second female assistant position coach, along with Tampa Bay Buccaneers assistant defensive line coach Lori Locust.
King became the first Black woman to serve as a primary position coach in the NFL in December 2021 against the Philadelphia Eagles. She also became the first woman to serve as a positional coach in last year’s East-West Shrine Bowl.
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