Jaguars' Hiring of Byron Leftwich Hits Potential Snag

Head-coaching vacancies around the league are starting to fill, and it appeared the Jacksonville Jaguars were the next team to find their new leader. Reports on Wednesday claimed that Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich was on the verge of finalizing a deal to take over in Jacksonville.

Byron Leftwich Jaguars Coach

No agreement was announced on Wednesday, though, and it sounds like there's a snag holding up this hiring.

Source tells me that Byron Leftwich is the #jaguars pick but the hold up is over who will have control of the roster. Leftwich wants Trent Baalke out and the #Jaguars to hire Adrian Wilson who is the Vice President of pro scouting with Cardinals. https://t.co/TBlgdwaMEk
— Chris Porter (@ChrisPorterFCN) January 27, 2022

Byron Leftwich News

Chris Porter of First Coast News reports that Leftwich is the Jaguars' primary choice for the HC job, but control of the roster is preventing the hiring. Leftwich reportedly wants Jags GM Trent Baalke fired and replaced by current Arizona Cardinals vice president of pro scouting Adrian Wilson.

It's certainly a big ask of Leftwich to demand a change at GM before taking the job. However, Baalke's resume over the past few years leaves much to be desired.

The San Francisco 49ers saw a steep drop-off after multiple conference championship appearances and cycled through head coaches after parting ways with Jim Harbaugh.

In 2021, Baalke's first season as a GM since 2016, coaching woes popped up once again with Urban Meyer's disastrous 13-game tenure. And the jury is still out on Baalke's draft decisions to this point in Jacksonville.

Given the issues that have followed Baalke, it's no wonder Leftwich isn't keen on working for him. Wilson could bring in a strong scouting background, which would be massive for this rebuilding Jaguars team to have, especially with first selection in almost every round of the upcoming NFL Draft.

Hopefully Jacksonville doesn't let a young, rising coach get away in favor of keeping an underwhelming GM.

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Isaiah De Los Santos is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Isaiah De Los Santos also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username zayyy05328. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.