Byron Leftwich early favorite to be Jags’ next coach
The Jacksonville Jaguars may tap a bright spot from their past in an attempt to move on from the short — and tumultuous — tenure of Urban Meyer.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich opened as the +400 favorite by SportsBetting.ag to be the Jaguars’ next head coach after Meyer was fired Wednesday night.
Leftwich was selected by the Jaguars with the seventh overall pick in the 2003 NFL Draft. He went on to start 44 of 46 games in four seasons with Jacksonville, and he ranks fourth in franchise history with both 9,042 passing yards and 51 touchdowns.
Leftwich played one of his nine NFL seasons with Tampa Bay, and the 41-year-old is now in his third season as the Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator.
The Jaguars are expected to go with an offensive-minded head coach to continue the development of quarterback Trevor Lawrence, the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft.
After Leftwich, the next-shortest odds belong to Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore at +500.
Just behind him is Darrell Bevell (+550), who was the Jaguars’ OC before being named interim coach Wednesday night. Bevell has also served as the offensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks and Detroit Lions.
Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy is being offered at +700 along with Joe Brady, who was fired as the Carolina Panthers’ OC earlier this month.
Along with several more NFL assistants on the list are three current NFL head coaches: Seattle’s Pete Carroll (+1400), San Francisco’s Kyle Shanahan (+1600) and Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin (+2500).
Two assistants who are not on SportsBetting.ag’s list are Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell and defensive coordinator Raheem Morris. Morris has previous head coaching experience with the New York Jets, while O’Connell is a former quarterback, as were Leftwich and Moore.
Jaguars Next Coach Odds:
Byron Leftwich: +400
Kellen Moore: +500
Darrell Bevell: +550
Eric Bieniemy: +700
Joe Brady: +700
Doug Pederson: +900
Brian Daboll: +1000
Matt Eberflus: +1000
Josh McDaniels: +1400
Pete Carroll: +1400
Jim Caldwell: +1600
Kyle Shanahan: +1600
Marvin Lewis: +1600
Mike Tomlin: +2500
Jaguars owner Shad Khan is not expected to dip into the college ranks again after the failed Meyer experiment.
Meanwhile, Meyer’s coaching future remains murky at best. The sportsbook is offering +200 odds that Meyer will coach somewhere in college next year vs. -300 that he will not.
–Field Level Media
