Jaguars request permission to interview Byron Leftwich

The Jacksonville Jaguars have officially kicked off their search for a new head coach by requesting permission to interview Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Byron Leftwich, according to a report.

Leftwich was someone the Jaguars were rumored to be interested in as soon as Urban Meyer was fired and is sure to be a hot name in the coaching search this offseason. Leftwich has been highly praised by those around the league as a hot up and coming coach and likely destined to be a head coach as early as last season.

Leftwich, who was the seventh overall pick in the first round of the 2003 NFL Draft for the Jaguars, has been under the tutelage of Bucs head coach Bruce Arians since 2017 as a coach and played for him with the Pittsburgh Steelers while Arians was the offensive coordinator. Leftwich has been the Bucs offensive coordinator since 2019, and they have often had one of the highest scoring and explosive offenses in the NFL.

With the new rules surrounding head coaching vacancies, because the Jaguars fired Meyer in-season, they were permitted to start interviewing currently employed candidates as soon as the beginning of this week, however also with the new rules the initial interviews are limited to be only two hours in length.