TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have fired offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich, along with five other assistant coaches, the team announced Thursday.
Specialists coach Chris Boniol, wide receivers coach Kevin Garver, offensive quality control coach Jeff Kastl, assistant defensive line coach Lori Locust and running backs coach Todd McNair were also fired.
Also leaving are quarterbacks coach Clyde Christensen, senior offensive assistant Rick Christophel and outside linebackers coach Bob Sanders, who have decided to retire.
"We appreciate the hard work and contributions that all of these coaches made to our successes over the past four seasons," head coach Todd Bowles said in a statement. "As a collective group, we did not meet the high standards that had been set for this past year and my focus now is on doing what is needed to ensure a successful 2023 season. These were very difficult decisions but something that I felt was necessary for our football team going forward."
The coaching changes came after the Buccaneers won the NFC South Division and made the playoffs this season, despite finishing with a losing record. They lost to the Dallas Cowboys 31-14 in the wild-card round Monday night.
Leftwich had been with the Buccaneers since 2019, coming to Tampa Bay with former head coach Bruce Arians.
The 43-year-old former quarterback was a first-round pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2003 NFL Draft and played for Buccaneers in 2009. He helped quarterback Tom Brady and the Buccaneers become the first team to win a Super Bowl at their home stadium during the 2020 season.
Bowles had been the team's defensive coordinator under Arians before being promoted to head coach before the start of the season.
