Buccaneers To Fire OC Byron Leftwich
The Buccaneers are moving on from Byron Leftwich. The team’s offensive coordinator of the past four years will not return in 2023, according to the Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud.
In addition to Leftwich’s dismissal, Stroud points to other changes. As many as five offensive staffers and multiple defensive assistants will not be back next season. This follows a season in which the Bucs’ offense declined considerably after two strong years with Tom Brady. The changes came to pass after a Todd Bowles meeting with GM Jason Licht and Bucs ownership, per Stroud.
This news comes a year after Leftwich, 43, was on the HC carousel. The Jaguars interviewed their former quarterback twice in January 2022, but Leftwich removed his name from consideration for the job. Jacksonville ended up hiring Doug Pederson and is now in the divisional round. Leftwich’s fourth Bucs offense dropped from second in 2021 to 25th this season.
In December, a report emerged indicating Brady and Leftwich were not seeing eye-to-eye, and a recent report noted a Brady 2023 return could well be contingent on Leftwich’s dismissal. Many connected Brady to Bruce Arians‘ exit as well, though Arians has repeatedly denied he was forced out. While Brady’s Tampa future is up in the air, Bowles will search for his own offensive coordinator. Bowles’ seat warmed after the Bucs’ 8-9 finish and blowout loss to the Cowboys in the wild-card round, and he will tie his future to a handpicked OC.
A name to watch is Georgia OC Todd Monken, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). Monken has a history with the Bucs, having been on staff from 2016-18, and Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com adds (via Twitter) he has generated interest from teams.
The Bucs moved on from Monken upon firing Dirk Koetter after the 2018 season, leading Monken to Cleveland and the Arians-Leftwich tandem to Tampa. Monken has been Georgia’s OC since 2020, and his tenure has overlapped with the greatest stretch in the program’s history. The Bulldogs have won back-to-back national championships, the most recent being cemented via a 65-7 rout of TCU. Monken’s 2018 Bucs season also included Ryan Fitzpatrick posting a 9.6 yards-per-attempt figure, which still ranks in the top 10 all time.
Leftwich earned a second chance as an OC following a dismal 2018, which featured the Cardinals’ first post-Arians season end with a 3-13 record and the team ranking last offensively. Arians, who had retired following the 2017 slate, brought Leftwich to Tampa and installed him as the Bucs’ play-caller. Jameis Winston‘s historically high-variance 2019 season gave way to Brady in 2020. After a rocky start, the legendary QB drove the Bucs to a top-three ranking on offense that year. Leftwich collected a Super Bowl ring that season, and Brady led the NFL in touchdown passes and passing yards in 2021. Tampa Bay’s final Winston-led offense also ranked in the top seven in both points and yards, which should reflect well on Leftwich. But this season brought an undeniable blow to his value.
The Bucs ranked last across the board in rushing this season, despite the team re-signing Leonard Fournette on a three-year deal worth $21MM. Offensive line issues plagued the team, and Brady’s QBR fell from second in 2021 to 18th in 2022. The Bucs’ 198 fewer points from 2021-22 doubles as the second-steepest decline in NFL history, behind only the Falcons’ freefall from 1973-74 (h/t Fox Sports’ Greg Auman). Although Brady threw for 351 yards in Tampa Bay’s woeful wild-card performance, he struggled throughout and did not confirm anything about his 2023 plans postgame. The 45-year-old passer has been connected to retiring again, playing for the Bucs in 2023 or playing elsewhere. More Brady-dominated news cycles are coming, but Leftwich will be on the lookout for his next gig by that point.
Leftwich’s Winston offense outperforming Monken’s Winston work should work in the former’s favor, though some of Winston and Brady’s Tampa production will undoubtedly be attributed to Arians. Leftwich, a former Jags top-10 pick, entered coaching in 2016 as an Arians intern but rose to the OC level by 2018, when the Cardinals fired Mike McCoy in-season.
NFL Reserve/Futures Deals: 1/18/23
Today’s reserve/futures deals:
Atlanta Falcons
Carolina Panthers
- DB Myles Dorn
Minnesota Vikings
New England Patriots
Philadelphia Eagles
- DB Tristin McCollum
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- OT Michael Niese, LB J.J. Russell
According to Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (via Twitter), there was a bit of competition for offensive lineman Kyle Hinton’s services. The 2020 seventh-round pick spent much of the season on the Vikings practice squad, and they looked to sign him to a reserve/futures contract. However, he ended up opting for the Falcons, who gave him an $100K signing bonus.
Seahawks Sign K Jason Myers To Extension
Jason Myers is staying in Seattle. The Seahawks announced on Twitter that they’ve signed their kicker to an extension.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets that it’s a four-year extension worth $21.1MM. The deal can max out at $22.6MM based on incentives. Myers was set to hit free agency in March but will now be sticking with the Seahawks through the 2026 campaign. In terms of total value, the $21.1MM contract will trail only Younghoe Koo ($24.25MM), Justin Tucker ($24MM), and Jason Sanders ($22MM) at the position, while the $5.25MM average annual value is second to Tucker ($6MM).
Following a three-year stint with the Jaguars and a Pro Bowl season with the Jets, Myers inked a four-year, $15.45MM deal with the Seahawks in 2019. During his four years with the organization, he’s connected on 87.5 percent of his field goal attempts and 93.5 percent of his extra point tries. Myers also connected on 37 straight field goals between 2019 and 2021, the fourth-longest streak in NFL history.
Myers made his second career Pro Bowl appearance in 2022. He ended up converting 34 of his 37 field goal attempts and 41 of his 42 extra point attempts. He also contributed five points during Seattle’s playoff loss to the 49ers.
Cowboys To Sign Tristan Vizcaino, Plan To Keep Brett Maher
The Cowboys once waived Brett Maher late in a season, but they are not planning to repeat that transaction right now. Despite Maher becoming the first player since 1932 to miss four extra points in a game, Cowboys special teams coach John Fassel said the team is sticking by its kicker.
That said, insurance is coming. The Cowboys are adding Tristan Vizcaino to their practice squad, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. Vizcaino kicked in three games for the Cardinals and Patriots this season.
Maher, whom the Cowboys cut late in the 2019 season, rejoined the team late this summer after the NFC East squad’s fielded an uninspired kicking competition. The former CFL kicker, who holds the NFL record for most 60-plus-yard makes in a career (four), connected on a career-high 90.6% of his field goals this season. But he will head to San Francisco coming off the worst game of his career.
“I believe in the hot hand, and I believe in the yips, absolutely,” Fassel said, via ESPN.com’s Todd Archer. “And you know, you wonder sometimes how you get into the yips, and you wonder sometimes how you get back into the hot hand. I think it’s keep stepping up to the line and shooting that thing. We missed a couple of free throws [Monday] … He had a hot hand. Let’s face it, he only missed [six] kicks all season. The yips happen, so I expect a hot hand coming up.”
Mike McCarthy also eschewed a late field goal opportunity, keeping Maher sidelined after his PAT nightmare. Maher, 33, did make his final extra point during the Cowboys’ blowout win over the Buccaneers. While Maher will certainly be scrutinized ahead of the Cowboys’ divisional-round matchup, he has submitted a strong enough season to warrant another chance. And, to be fair, kickers only had to attempt tries from the 15-yard line beginning in 2015. PATs were much easier in previous eras, though Maher will struggle to live down his historically bad wild-card outing.
Vizcaino, who spent time with Dallas during the 2020 offseason, made both his field goals and was 3 of 3 on extra points with New England and Arizona this season. For his career, the ex-Charger is 11-for-12 on field goals and 15-for-20 on PATs.
Titans To Hire Ran Carthon As GM
Hours after a finalist contingent emerged, the Titans have made their choice. They plan to hire 49ers director of player personnel Ran Carthon as their next general manager, Dianna Russini and Jeff Darlington of ESPN.com report (on Twitter).
Carthon, who has been with the 49ers for six years, joined Bears assistant GM Ian Cunningham and Titans interim GM Ryan Cowden as the finalists for this position. A day after the Cardinals hired Titans exec Monti Ossenfort, the league’s last GM vacancy — for the time being, at least — is now filled.
Carthon, 41, has been an NFL staffer since 2008 and has held high-ranking titles for the 49ers and Rams. A former Florida Gators running back and son of ex-Giants fullback and longtime NFL assistant Maurice Carthon, Ran has been in the mix for GM roles for a bit now. He interviewed for the Bears, Giants and Steelers’ GM jobs last year and met with the Cardinals last week. Carthon will now be set to team with Mike Vrabel in Tennessee.
The Titans hiring Carthon, who is Black, will equip the 49ers with third-round picks this year and in 2024. Due to the NFL modifying its Rooney Rule to reward third-round selections to teams who hire minority execs as GMs or minority assistant coaches as HCs, the 49ers will benefit again. They have been given eight third-round picks — for the hires of Martin Mayhew, Robert Saleh, Mike McDaniel and now Carthon — since the NFL greenlit this rule. Carthon becomes the sixth minority GM hired since 2021.
Tennessee’s hire doubles as one of the more unique GM additions in recent history. No HC change is in sight, with Vrabel having established himself as one of the league’s most respected coaches. Carthon, then, will be tasked with working alongside the sixth-year Titans HC to retool the roster. Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk made the surprising decision to fire Jon Robinson less than a year after giving him an extension that ran through the 2027 draft. The Titans signed both Vrabel and Robinson to new deals in February 2022, but Adams Strunk reversed course and cited personnel decisions and the team’s repeated trouble with injuries as reasons for the Robinson ouster.
Hired in 2016, Robinson helped rebuild the Titans into a consistent contender. He tabbed Vrabel in 2018, and the two guided the Titans to three straight playoff berths from 2019-21. This year brought change, with the most notable move being the A.J. Brown trade. Adams Strunk said Brown scoring twice against the Titans did not impact her decision to fire Robinson, despite the firing coming soon after the Tennessee-Philadelphia matchup in December. One of Carthon’s duties will be to help rebuild a Titans receiving corps that dearly missed Brown this season. Overall, the Titans closed the season with seven straight losses, going from the AFC’s No. 1 seed in 2021 to a team with a 7-10 record and a less stable future a year later.
The 49ers, who hired Carthon in 2017 after his five-year tenure as the Rams’ director pro personnel, promoted him from director of pro personnel to director of player personnel in 2021. Following Mayhew’s 2021 exit, Carthon joined Adam Peters as a top John Lynch lieutenant. The 49ers have ventured to two NFC championship games and a Super Bowl during Carthon’s tenure, and their pro personnel department oversaw quite the seminal transaction in 2017 — a trade for Jimmy Garoppolo. The 49ers have withstood injuries to both Garoppolo and Trey Lance this year to become the NFC’s No. 2 seed behind seventh-round rookie Brock Purdy. Although Peters is viewed as the most likely Lynch successor, Carthon with have the chance to work as front office leader first. The Titans tried to interview Peters, but the 49ers’ assistant GM declined the opportunity.
This move could lead Cowden elsewhere, though that is not yet certain. Robinson hired both Cowden and Ossenfort, and the former — who joined Robinson’s staff from the jump seven years ago — worked as Tennessee’s interim GM to close out this season. Cunningham also interviewed for both the Titans and Cardinals’ GM posts. Considering Cunningham just completed his first year in an assistant GM role, this GM hiring cycle illustrated the league’s view of his work.
Chiefs RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire Returns To Practice
The Chiefs welcomed a pair of offensive players back to practice today. According to Herbie Teope of The Kansas City Star (on Twitter), the Chiefs designated running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire and tight end Jody Fortson for return. The team will now have 21 days to activate either player to the 53-man roster.
Edwards-Helaire hasn’t seen the field since November while dealing with a high-ankle sprain. At the time of his injury, CEH was already seeing a reduced role on offense, with rookie Isiah Pacheco and pass-catcher Jerick McKinnon soaking up many of the RB snaps. Even if Edwards-Helaire is good to go for the rest of the playoffs, there’s no guarantee that he’ll be anything more than the third running back on the depth chart.
The 2020 first-round pick has shown flashes during his brief career, including a rookie campaign that saw him finish with 1,100 yards from scrimmage. In 10 games (six starts) this season, the 23-year-old collected 453 yards from scrimmage and six touchdowns.
“Anytime you get talented players back, it helps the whole team — not just the offense, but everybody,” quarterback Patrick Mahomes said (via Teope). “To have that energy in the locker room again, to have it on the football field and both those guys are special-type players.”
Fortson suffered an elbow injury in Week 15 that shut him down for the rest of the regular season. The tight end had 108 yards and two touchdowns while playing behind Travis Kelce and Noah Gray on the depth chart.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 1/17/23
Today’s practice squad transactions:
Buffalo Bills
- Signed:DT Cortez Broughton, WR Dezmon Patmon
- Released: WR Tanner Gentry, LB Joe Giles-Harris
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: WR Jerrion Ealy
- Released: DT Daniel Wise
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: WR Tyrie Cleveland
NFL Reserve/Futures Deals: 1/17/23
Today’s reserve/futures deals:
Pittsburgh Steelers
Seattle Seahawks
- OL Greg Eiland, LB Chris Garrett, DT Jarrod Hewitt, C Joey Hunt, WR Cade Johnson, OT Jalen McKenzie, CB Chris Steele, RB Darwin Thompson, WR Connor Wedington, WR Easop Winston Jr.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- OT Dylan Cook, CB Don Gardner, WR Kaylon Geiger, DL Mike Greene, OT Grant Hermanns, RB Patrick Laird, CB Duron Lowe, DL Willington Previlon, OLB Hamilcar Rashed, OT Justin Skule, OLB Charles Snowden, S Nolan Turner, TE David Wells
Tennessee Titans
- OL John Leglue
Chargers Fire OC Joe Lombardi
Significant changes have been made to the Chargers’ coaching staff, though not necessarily the one many have been anticipating. Offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and quarterbacks coach Shane Day have been fired (Twitter links via Tom Pelissero of NFL Network). The team has confirmed the moves.
Lombardi was hired in January 2021 to serve on head coach Brandon Staley‘s staff. The former came to Los Angeles after two different stints with the Saints serving as their QBs coach. His work alongside Drew Brees certainly made him an appealing candidate to help usher in the Justin Herbert era with the Chargers, though his results have been varied. 
The Chargers had one of the best offenses in the league in 2021, with the team ranking fourth in yards and fifth in points per game. Herbert and the team’s array of pass catchers accounted for much of that success, as Los Angeles ranked second in the league in yards gained through the air. The team fell short of the postseason after a wild season-finale loss to the Raiders, however, leading to questions regarding their defensive performance and Staley’s in-game management.
This year, a number of moves made in the offseason — including further additions on the offensive line — led to increased expectations for Lombardi’s unit. The Chargers once again ranked in the top 10 in the NFL in terms of yardage, but their scoring fell to the middle of the pack. Running back Austin Ekeler helped lead the way as a number of injuries weighed down their efficiency through the air, but the team nevertheless seemed well-positioned to win this past week in Herbert’s postseason debut.
The Chargers were well on their way to doing just that when they raced to a 27-0 lead over the Jaguars on Saturday night. During the second half, however, the tide started to turn as Jacksonville worked their way back into contention. Lombardi’s play-calling down the stretch — which saw Ekeler receive only 13 total carries on the night, in spite of his pair of early touchdowns and the team’s large advantage on the scoreboard — drew heavy criticism. Now, Staley has responded by parting ways with the 51-year-old coordinator in a major shake-up to his staff.
Lombardi came to the Chargers with two years of OC experience dating back to his time with the Lions. Detroit put up underwhelming totals during his tenure there, something which, coupled with this unceremonious exit from Los Angeles, will hurt his chances of landing another OC role in the future. Day, meanwhile, has also had his two-year stint come to an end. He served as the Chargers’ passing game coordinator in addition to his duties coaching Herbert and the team’s other signal-callers. The 48-year-old position coach has been an offensive assistant with six different NFL teams, and will now look for his next opportunity on the sidelines.
Today’s move means there are now six offensive coordinator vacancies around the NFL. This one is likely to be the most coveted, considering the presence of Herbert, Ekeler, a high-end pairing of wideouts in Keenan Allen and Mike Williams, and a rebuilt offensive front. While the search for Lombardi’s successor will be a key storyline for the Chargers, this news also strongly points to Staley’s job being safe, something which the team’s players advocated for in the wake of the weekend’s defeat.
Browns To Hire Jim Schwartz As DC
The Browns have made the first hire in this season’s coordinator cycle. Cleveland is set to add Jim Schwartz as their new defensive coordinator, reports ESPN’s Dianna Russini (Twitter link).
Schwartz, 56, was quickly named as a candidate for the position. The veteran coach brings significant experience to the role, having spent a total of 14 years as a defensive coordinator in the NFL. His most recent tenure under that title came with the Eagles from 2016-20. Given his time there, he brings Super Bowl pedigree to a Browns team searching for consistency on their coaching staff. 
Joe Woods was thought to be on the hot seat as Cleveland’s DC during the season, after his unit failed to live up to expectations. Performances improved later in the campaign, but it still came as little surprise when he was fired last week. That kicked off the team’s search for his successor, which included Sean Desai, Dennard Wilson, and Brian Flores being considered in addition to Schwartz. Patriots LBs coach Jerod Mayo declined to meet with the Browns for the position, but Cleveland will still land a highly-regarded staffer as a result of this hire.
Prior to his time with the Eagles, Schwartz had a five-year tenure as head coach of the Lions. Aside from a 10-6 campaign in 2011, Detroit posted a losing record in each of his seasons at the helm. That obviously hurt his chances of landing another HC post in the future, but his Philadelphia success (which began after a single season in Buffalo) rebuilt his stock with respect to his abilities as a coordinator. Schwartz also had an eight-year stint as the Titans’ DC from 2001-08.
It was with the Browns that Schwartz began his time in the NFL. In 1993, Cleveland hired him as a personnel scout, a role he remained in for three seasons. He stayed with the franchise for another three years after it moved to Baltimore, though his time with the Ravens consisted of work as a defensive assistant. That launched his career as a staffer on that side of the ball, and has led to plenty of success which his original employer will now hope he can replicate.
The Browns put up underwhelming numbers in most defensive categories in 2022, with their secondary standing out as a notable exception. The team’s front seven is likely to be a focal point in the offseason, after surrendering an average of 135 yards per game on the ground and recording only 34 sacks. A plethora of injuries at the middle linebacker position in particular contributed in part to those figures, but a new voice on the sidelines will likely be a welcomed sight.
With such an experienced DC coming onboard, head coach Kevin Stefanski will have a veteran staffer to lean on as the team looks to clean up issues such as discipline which were a talking point in the season. This hire could further point to Stefanski retaining offensive play-calling duties, something which has been called into question with calls for him to take on a more general role overseeing team as a whole. His staff now has a veteran voice on hand to steer the team towards a rebound in 2023.