The disaster for Tampa Bay Buccaneers continues as they fire Byron Leftwich. The NFL team lost their chances of qualifying for the upcoming Super Bowl after losing to the Dallas Cowboys on January 17 in the wild-card round. Despite having the consensus GOAT in Tom Brady, Buccaneers have constantly misfired this season and have ended their run on a very disappointing note.
Tom Brady broke his retirement to play in the 2022-23 season after announcing his retirement in December 2021. Brady won his 7th ring at Super Bowl LV. However, Brady wanted to increase the number of championships and wanted to continue playing even in his early 40s. However, the 2022 season was an utter failure for the Buccaneers.
We have parted ways with offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich and made additional changes to the coaching staff.
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) January 19, 2023
The team only managed to win only 8 of their 17 group stage games before crashing out against the Cowboys. Many fans have blamed the offensive side of the team for the team’s shortcomings. In comparison, they had won 13 out of their 17 games during their championship run in the 2021-22 season. In that particular season, they scored 511 points in that season, while their opponents scored 353 points against them.
To put things into context, Bucs scored only 313 points throughout their run in the 2022-23 season, while they had 358 points scored against them. In the ongoing season, they have managed 32 touchdowns, while the team scored an insane 59 touchdowns in their Super Bowl-winning season. Hence, there is undoubtedly a massive dropoff in the team’s offensive play.
It looks like the responsibility and the blame fell upon Byron Leftwich, who was the offensive coordinator. He joined the team in 2019 and he was an integral part of turning around the team’s fortunes. However, the team is not responding to his methods any longer and perhaps it was the best decision for both parties involved to part ways.
Is Tom Brady about to retire after a failed season with Tampa Bay Buccaneers?
Although his move to Tampa from New England Patriots was a fruitful one in the initial season, things have soured since. After Antonio Brown‘s exit from the franchise, their results have not been up to the mark. So this begs the question, is Tom about to retire from the sport for good? Following his initial retirement, Tom landed a big deal with FOX which was worth $375 million.
So, is it finally time for Brady to take up a desk job? Tom himself was not sure about his future endeavors. Following the disappointing loss to the Cowboys, Brady had this to say about his immediate future, “I am going to get home and get a good night’s sleep… There has been a lot of focus on this game and it will be one day at a time.” (h/t via BBC)
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So it appears that Brady is not ruling out a return to the NFL in the upcoming season. He would surely want to go out on a high after such a disappointing season. However, it will be interesting to see if he returns to the Bucs or not. There are teams like Miami Dolphins, Las Vegas Raiders, and San Franciso 49ers who are interested in the veteran.
What do you think Tom Brady’s next move is? Do you think he retires? Or is there another good season left in him? Let us know in the comments down below.