Tampa, Fla. – Bruce Arians has plenty of reasons to smile these days but there is one thing that has the Buccaneers head coach ticked off.
"I was very, very pissed that Byron (Leftwich) didn’t at least get an interview this year," Arians said during a virtual press conference with reporters.
Byron Leftwich has been the Bucs offensive coordinator the past two seasons. He set records with Jameis Winston and Tom Brady but despite orchestrating high-powered offenses in 2019 and 2020, the 41-year-old didn’t get a single head coaching interview.
"I get way too much credit and so does Tom Brady for the job that Byron has done," said Arians.
"That’s not why I do it, said Leftwich. "Me being a former player, I want to help these players be the best football players that they can be. As far as, all the other stuff about getting interviews, I can’t answer that question. All we can do is try to do our jobs to the best of our ability."
Eric bieniemy and Todd Bowles are in the same boat. Bieniemy is set to make his second straight Super Bowl appearance as the Chiefs offensive coordinator. Bowles meanwhile inherited a defense that ranked 27th in the league, and in two years, turned it into one of the best units in the NFL. Both were passed up for head coaching jobs.
"You get frustrated a little bit all you can do is work," said Bowles. "You wanna do some things to move forward but what can you do? I don’t think coaches can be the ones that move it, it’s gotta be everyone else to move it, all we can do is coach."
"it’s always about getting the right job and sometimes the job and person have to connect," said Bieniemy. "There has to be some type of collaboration making sure the chemistry is a fit. So for whatever reason that chemistry hasn’t been a fit, there hasn’t been an opportunity to connect, but that’s ok."
Arians said earlier this week that inclusivity and diversity are great ways to teach. Bucs veteran running back LeSean McCoy believes its a great way to learn as well.
"It makes you more comfortable," said McCoy. "Sometimes with everything going on in the world, so many tragic incidents, to have a Black or White coach to sit down and talk to them to see how they see it, how we see it to get a common understanding. I think when you share a brotherhood with coaches and players, it’s better when you can talk about it and the other person is not judgemental and can understand."