Byron Leftwich emerges as frontrunner to land Jaguars head coaching job

On Tuesday, Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich was interviewed for a second time by the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Now, Leftwich is not only a finalist but appears to be the leading contender to become the franchise's next head coach.

However, sources could not confirm Tuesday night or Wednesday if Leftwich had been officially offered the job despite several reports that indicated the Jaguars are expected to hire him but contract details still have to be finalized.

A person familiar with the situation said Wednesday there is no time frame when an announcement could be made.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the Jaguars remain in talks with Leftwich and Indianapolis Colts defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, amongst others, but are not close to a deal with anyone, according to his sources.

The Jaguars interviewed Leftwich for the first time on a Zoom virtual call on Jan. 7. He became the second known finalist besides Eberflus to be granted a second interview by owner Shad Khan, general manager Trent Baalke, and Tony Khan, Shad's son, the executive vice president of football administration and technology.

Leftwich also interviewed for the vacant Chicago Bears head coaching job virtually last Thursday.

According to sources, the Jaguars' in-person interview with Leftwich went almost five hours and occurred mid-afternoon Tuesday in Tampa.

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From the start, Leftwich has been the Jaguars' fan base's top choice and several former Jaguars players have expressed their support for the former quarterback.

Former Jaguars center Brad Meester (2000-2013) told the Times-Union last week that he liked Leftwich the most among the candidates who interviewed.

If hired, Byron Leftwich would be a landmark head coach for Jaguars

If hired, Leftwich would become the franchise's eighth head coach, which includes Darrell Bevell, who served as interim head coach for the final four games of the 2021 season after Urban Meyer was fired on Dec. 16.

And Leftwich, 42, would become the first African-American head coach in Jaguars' franchise history. He is a former seventh overall pick by the Jaguars in the 2003 draft, playing his first four seasons with the franchise and starting 44 of 46 games during the span.

Leftwich eventually played 10 seasons in the NFL, which included three seasons as a backup quarterback with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

He has never been a head coach before, starting his coaching career with the Arizona Cardinals as a quarterbacks coach under Bruce Arians in 2017. Leftwich was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2018 after Mike McCoy was fired midway through the season. Leftwich joined Arians with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as offensive coordinator in 2019 and won a Super Bowl last season with Tom Brady at quarterback.

The Jaguars waited to interview Leftwich for a second time after the Los Angeles Rams eliminated Tampa Bay 30-27 in Sunday's NFC Divisional round playoff game that ended the Bucs' hopes to repeat as Super Bowl champion.

If Leftwich is hired, he will have a major repair job trying to turn a Jaguars franchise around that has had 10 losing seasons in 11 years, including going 4-29 over the last two seasons.

But the Jaguars have a franchise caliber quarterback in Trevor Lawrence and for the second consecutive season they have the No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming April draft.

Khan made the biggest mistake in his 10-year tenure last January when he hired Meyer, who won three national championships as a college coach but had never coached on the NFL level prior to getting hired by the Jaguars. Meyer lasted 13 games last season after becoming the biggest distraction in the franchise that included an allegation by former kicker Josh Lambo that he kicked him during a practice in August.

Meanwhile, the Jaguars conducted a thorough search that began in December and included interviews with former Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson, former Indianapolis Colts and Detroit Lions head coach Jim Caldwell, Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive coordinator Todd Bowles, Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, Alabama Crimson Tide offensive coordinator and former Texans head coach Bill O'Brien and Bevell.

Eberflus was the first Jaguars candidate to get a second interview when Khan met with him in Indianapolis last week. However, Eberflus is a finalist for the Bears job and is expected to be interviewed for a second time Wednesday.

Hackett, who spent four seasons as an assistant coach with the Jaguars, is among the three finalists for the vacant Denver Broncos job. He interviewed for a second time with the franchise on Monday.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Byron Leftwich emerges as frontrunner for Jaguars head coaching job