The Jaguars’ search for a new head coach is pure entertainment.
Jacksonville is close to hiring Buccaneers offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich as head coach and Arizona Cardinals vice president of pro scouting Adrian Wilson as their new general manager, according to Mike Jurecki, a digital content coordinator for the Cardinals’ official website.
A separate report by Chris Porter of First Coast News in Jacksonville said the process is being halted because Leftwich wants Trent Baalke, current GM of the Jaguars, out to make room for Wilson.
The two were Cardinals colleagues from 2017 to 2018, when Leftwich was the quarterbacks coach and interim offensive coordinator for Arizona.
Leftwich is reportedly Jacksonville’s top choice for its head coach position, but there is a “hold up over who will have control of the roster,” Porter tweeted.
Leftwich — a former NFL quarterback for the Jaguars from 2003 to 2006 — brushed off questions about the open head coach job in Jacksonville before the Bucs were eliminated from the postseason in a divisional round loss to the Rams last weekend.
Leftwich huddles with Tom Brady during the Buccaneers’ playoff run. Getty ImagesLeftwich also played for the Falcons, Buccaneers and the Steelers in two separate stints in his nine seasons as an NFL QB. He won a Super Bowl with Pittsburgh after the 2008 season, and won a championship as a coach with the Bucs last February.
Wilson played 12 NFL seasons in Arizona and finished his last three campaigns with the Patriots and Bears.
Former Broncos head coach Vic Fangio also interviewed for the position on Monday and traveled to Jacksonville via the team’s private jet, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Leftwich played QB for the Jags from 2003-2006. Al Messerschmidt/WireImage.comThat’s where things could get interesting, as Fangio is apparently “a Baalke guy,” Porter tweeted in response to Schefter.
Jacksonville is in desperate need of a turnaround after a losing season that was overshadowed by the dramatics of former head coach Urban Meyer.
The Jaguars fired Meyer in December when the team was 2-11, after he made controversial headlines for extracurricular activities — including a video scandal at a bar involving a woman that was not his wife.
Jacksonville is also looking to bounce back with 2021 No. 1-overall pick in quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who faced weekly questions about the team’s dysfunction in his debut season.
