The Chargers fired both Offensive Coordinator Joe Lombardi, and Quarterbacks Coach Shane Day on Tuesday morning. Losing both the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach most certainly means an entire scheme change for the Charger's offense. Here is a potential candidate to lead the Charger's offensive playcalling next season.
Byron Leftwich History
ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 08: Offensive Coordinator Byron Leftwich of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers looks on prior to the game against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on January 8, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
Byron Leftwich played in the NFL from 2003 to 2012. He played college football at Marshall and was drafted with the 7th-overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars. Leftwich continued to bounce around NFL clubs with stints in Atlanta, Pittsburgh, and Tampa through this career. He was mostly a career backup, and finished his playing career with 10,532 yards passing, and a 57.9% completion percentage.
In 2016, Leftwich began his coaching career under Bruce Arians as an intern with the Arizona Cardinals, and became the quarterbacks coach for Carson Palmer. He was elevated as the interim offensive coordinator for rookie Josh Rosen in the 2018 season before the Cardinals fired Arians and the rest of the coaching staff after a 3-13 season.
In 2019, Bruce Arians was hired as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach, and Leftwich followed to be his offensive coordinator. Leftwich was tasked with developing Jamesis Winston for a season before the Buccaneers acquired Tom Brady the following year. In 2020, the Buccaneers won the Super Bowl, and continued to make the playoffs in each of the following seasons. Leftwich was fired as offensive coordinator on January 19th, 2023 after the Buccaneers failed to beat the Dallas Cowboys in the wild card round.
Case For Byron Leftwich
Byron Leftwich has quarterback experience as a player, and experience as a play-caller since 2018. He was able to win a Super Bowl as an offensive coordinator and schemed together an offense that led to another MVP award for Tom Brady in 2021. Under Leftwich, both Jamesis Winston and Tom Brady led the NFL in passing yards in 2019 and 2021.
Leftwich is a quarterbacks coach first, and should help the Chargers passing offense return to form. He was even offered the head coach position of the Jacksonville Jaguars, but wisely turned down the offer knowing Trent Baalke’s tendency of cycling through coaches very quickly. Leftwich has been an up-and-coming coach for awhile now, and should immediately impact play-calling that takes advantage of Justin Herbert’s skill set.
Case Against Byron Leftwich
While Leftwich was able to take an aging Hall of Fame quarterback over the age of 40 years old, and push him to another MVP award while leading the league in passing yards, Leftwich was not able to find the same success in developing Josh Rosen or Jamesis Winston. While Winston led the league in passing yards in 2019, that more of a result of the sheer number of passing attempts. That same season, Winston also finished with 30 interceptions, something that hasn’t been done since 1980. Leftwich never deviated from the passing game.
Leftwich also does not have an affinity for the run game, and while there was success during the lone Super Bowl season, Leftwich offenses tend to rank very low in total rushing yards. The 2022 Buccaneers offense averaged just 3.4 yards per carry with what should have been a quality backfield of Leonard Fournette and rookie Rashaad White. The Buccaneers finished with just five rushing touchdowns, even with Fournette being one of the best red zone power backs in the NFL. In all, the Buccaneers offense has taken a step back each year since their Super Bowl.
Bottom Line
Bruce Arians is one of the most respected coaches the NFL has seen the last decade, and he swears by Leftwich. As a young coach, Leftwich is still developing as a play caller and that doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing. If you want an offensive coordinator who can grow with a quarterback like Justin Herbert, and the core of the Chargers skill position players, Byron Leftwich has traits that could be beneficial to the Chargers offense and take it to the next level.
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