Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin is considered one of the best coaches in all of professional sports, but he often gets his resume picked apart by frustrated fans. People often point to just one Super Bowl win in 18 seasons, no playoff wins since the 2016 season, and the fact that the head coach is one of the few successful coaches without a certified coaching tree. Tomlin is the longest-tenured coach in the NFL, and his coaching tree is nonexistent apart from some former players.
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Steelers' Mike Tomlin ahead of a 2024 home game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Hines Ward is a player that has gone into coaching after his playing career ended, and he is getting ready to coach the Arizona State Sun Devils in the College Football Playoff. Another former player that has found success coaching is Byron Leftwich, who served as a backup quarterback for Pittsburgh for years. Leftwich went on to coach under Bruce Arians, a former offensive coordinator for Pittsburgh, with the Arizona Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Leftwich last served as the offensive coordinator for Tampa Bay during the 2022 season after winning the Super Bowl at the end of the 2020 campaign. He was fired after that, which was his first year under Todd Bowles after Arians retired.
Arians spoke with The Athletic and shared his belief that Leftwich was the scapegoat for the Buccaneers amidst some offensive struggles in 2022.
"It looks like it all falls on Byron, and that to me is totally wrong," Arians said. "I mean, it was just a different philosophy that Todd [Bowles] wanted to go with. But if there is anyone that puts anything out negatively about Byron, they’re totally full of s**t."
Leftwich has not coached again since being fired in Tampa Bay. This comes after the former play-caller was being interviewed for head coaching jobs after the 2021 season. Tampa Bay's offense was largely successful under Leftwich, and after the first sign of a struggle, the former quarterback was fired and he hasn't been given another opportunity.
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Former Steelers quarterback and former Tampa Bay Buccaneers Offensive Coordinator, Byron Leftwich.
Leftwich has the desire to coach again in the NFL. He has the brain of a quarterback, which usually leads to a former player being a good coach. Leftwich probably won't be able to jump right into calling plays again, as he will probably need to work his way up the coaching ladder once again. Tomlin spoke about his former quarterback's leadership abilities, and how he believes he is built to coach in the NFL.
"Awesome leadership qualities have always oozed out of him," Tomlin said. "Some of it comes from the position he played, but he has always had an ease about him when it comes to leadership. He’s comfortable in his own skin and gets along well with people, and he carries himself in a way that commands respect."
This upcoming coaching cycle during the 2025 offseason should be an interesting one, and there is a chance that Leftwich could end up back on an NFL staff. He might need to take on a lesser role at first, but at least he will be back in an organization with the opportunity to rise through the ranks.
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Steelers' former quarterback Byron Leftwich during a game in Pittsburgh.
Steelers Ignored Byron Leftwich During The 2023 Offseason
Leftwich was out of a job going into the 2023 NFL season, and he was trying to catch onto a coaching staff somewhere in the league. He was just two years removed from winning Super Bowl LV as an offensive coordinator, so teams with a struggling offense should have been chomping at the bit to land Leftwich. The Steelers certainly met that criteria with Matt Canada calling their offense, but they still ignored Leftwich when he reached out to the organization.
Hopefully Leftwich finds somewhere to coach during the 2025 season, as no Super Bowl-winning play-caller should be without a job for two years in a row.
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