Coach Prime isn’t just competing in the Big 12, he’s turning Boulder into an NFL factory. While teams are busy adding new recruits and chasing the next 5-star prospect, Deion Sanders is stacking the Colorado Buffs coaching staff with NFL, scratch that, Super Bowl-winning experience. Having already added the likes of Hall of Fame running back Marshall Faulk, and longtime NFL defensive lineman Domata Peko to go along with the powerhouse presence of Warren Sapp, Sanders is taking college football coaching to another level. And just when you thought he was done, he may have just pulled off a trump card, bringing offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich to Colorado. If you’re a Bucs fan reading this, yes it is the same Leftwich who coached Tom Brady to a Super Bowl in Tampa Bay.

Leftwich has been out of a job ever since leaving the Bucs in January 2023 and it was largely expected that an NFL team would land this experienced coach, who also served the Arizona Cardinals from 2016 to 2018. He was even reported to have interviewed for some NFL roles, but Deion Sanders seems to have pulled off a surprise. One that left many NFL experts scratching their heads, including Shannon Sharpe.

Shannon Sharpe connects the dots after Byron Leftwich’s latest career move

Coach Prime loves to give his fans sweet surprises. March 18, was one such day when he got lucky to surprise his fans. On that day, Leftwich was spotted holding a play sheet during the practice. Nothing is official, and Deion is known to bring noteworthy NFL figures to ‘consult’ at various practices. But there was a big hint that warded off all the confusion. The former Tampa Bay OC was spotted sporting Colorado gear and when Sanders formally introduced him to the team, that’s when Buffs fans were super sure that Leftwich was joining Colorado’s offensive staff. But Sharpe finds it baffling that a coach of his caliber was overlooked by the NFL teams in the first place.

On the March 21st episode of the Nightcap podcast with Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson, Sharpe brought to the table the different questions that had been looming inside his head, “Former Bucs offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich is joining Colorado’s coaching staff. I don’t know what happened in Tampa because he went from a guy who had an opportunity to get a head coaching job to being out of the league.”

Leftwich had a 10-year career as a quarterback in the NFL and was part of the Steelers team that won the Super Bowl in 2009. Following his playing career, he joined the Cardinals as a coaching intern before taking up the role of the team’s quarterbacks coach for the next two years, while serving as the OC briefly in 2018. A move to Tampa Bay was next and it was here that he made a name for himself. Having a Super Bowl win on his resume, it was expected that NFL teams would be lining up for him for their head coaching role, but Leftwich has gone down a different route.

Sharpe addressed the elephant in the room. “If you notice every other offensive coordinator that has ever coached Tom Brady – what has he got in the NFL, Ocho? A head coaching job.” Sharpe then starts to name them. Charlie Weis, who got a chance to head coach Notre Dame, New England Patriots OC Josh McDaniel, and former New England OC Bill O’Brien who is the head coach at Boston College. 

“Three playcallers got job. One guy, Bill O’Brien, never won a Super Bowl, he lost. This guy [Leftwich] won a Super Bowl calling plays,” Sharpe added. If you are wondering why Sharpe is having a hard time grasping Leftwich’s move, let us walk you through some of his achievements as an OC at the Bucs.

Leftwich had teamed up with head coach Bruce Arians and future Hall of Fame quarterback Brady to win Super Bowl LV. In all four seasons as the Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator, Byron Leftwich commanded an elite, top-two passing attack. Sure, coaching Tom Brady was a luxury, but Leftwich didn’t just ride the wave he helped Brady hit milestones he hadn’t seen in over a decade, including a 5,000-yard season and 40-touchdown masterpiece. Earlier, he also helped Jameis Winston to a career-high 5,109 passing yards and 33 touchdowns in 2019, making him the league’s passing leader that season. Under him the Buccaneers led the league in scoring, averaging 30.4 points per game from 2020 to 2021.

Having lost Shedeur Sanders and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter to the NFL, it is easy to see why Deion Sanders wants to go all in to develop the next crop of talent in Colorado, with Julian Lewis and Kaidon Salter likely to vie for the starting QB position. Learning under Leftwich will be a massive boost for the young QBs, especially Lewis, early in their career.

After helping carve one of the most potent offenses in NFL history, Leftwich will be bringing his expertise to Colorado as Deion Sanders looks to take the Buffs to the next level in the coming season. Colorado faced offensive struggles at times last season, despite moments of brilliance. The addition of Leftwich brings another elite football mind into the mix, ensuring the Buffs complement their talent with the strategic expertise needed to compete in the stacked Big 12.

With Marshall Faulk as the running backs coach and Domata Peko as the defensive line coach, Sanders has filled his staff with NFL experience, which is unheard of at the collegiate level. Coach Prime is bringing a buzz of a different kind to Boulder.

The 45-year-old Leftwich will be an offensive assistant at Colorado and will work alongside offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur. Even though Sharpe is left a little dazed by Leftwich taking his talents to college football, the new Buffs’ coach has earned his reputation. After Coach Prime introduced him to the team, an old video of Tom Brady praising Leftwich went viral.

Tom Brady being Byron Leftwich’s biggest cheerleader 

Leftwich’s career had hit pause mode for quite some time now. He has not coached since the Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles fired him in January 2023. The reason behind this heartbreaking decision? That’s because they saw Tampa Bay slip from the top 3 in scoring the previous three seasons to No. 15 in yards and No. 25 in points in 2022. However, it’s not that he didn’t try to get some exposure. 

Leftwich interviewed with the New England Patriots for their head coaching post in January. But was not that fortunate to land the role. However, things are turning for the good as he steps into Deion’s program. Soon after the announcement an X user, whose bio reads “Independent CU Buffs Creator,” shared an old clip of Brady praising Leftwich.

“Byron has a great presence about him. He’s a former quarterback. So I think so much of how he sees the game is through the eyes of the quarterback… He’s got a great understanding of the game, got a great work ethic, has great command and presence, and he’s a great coach,” Brady is found saying in the video. The user captioned the video, 

The video seems to be from 2019, when Leftwich first made the move to Tampa Bay. Now, as he turns a new page in his coaching career, he will be hoping to replicate the success he had with Brady and reward Deion Sanders’s belief.