Ranking Jaguars top 5 head coaching candidates in 2022

Jaguars head coach candidate No. 2 – Byron Leftwich

If you check social media, this is the fans’ pick to succeed Urban Meyer, and with good reason. Byron Leftwich was the seventh overall pick in the 2003 draft and played in Jacksonville in the first four years of his NFL career. Although the Marshall product isn’t considered a bust, he didn’t do much of note and retired in the early 2010s.

Leftwich then joined Bruce Arians’ staff with the Arizona Cardinals and worked his way up to offensive coordinator. Arians would bring  Leftwich with him to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. You could make the case that Tom Brady was a big reason the Bucs won Super Bowl 55 but the truth is that Leftwich has helped him play at a high level even though he’s well in his 40s.

One thing that will boost Leftwich’s candidacy anywhere he goes is that he, not Arians, runs the Buccaneers’ offensive meetings, showing he’s more than just the result of having top-notch talent at his disposal. An added benefit of hiring Leftwich is that he could bring in wide receiver Chris Godwin with him. If the Jaguars bring back DJ Chark Jr. and sign Godwin in next year’s free agency, their offense should see a considerable boost in 2022.

Like Daboll, Leftwich will be a first-time head coach but that shouldn’t stop the Jags or other teams from pursuing him.