Black assistants mark milestone in Super Bowl history
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are not only the firstteam to advance to a Super Bowl that will be played in their home stadium, but they are also the first to reach the NFL title game with Black assistants leading the offense, defense and special teams.
Offensive coordinator
Byron Leftwich, defensive coordinator Todd Bowles and special teams coach
Keith Armstrong were all hired by coach Bruce Arians, who came out of retirement two years ago to take on the challenge of transforming the Bucs. Tampa Bay beat Green Bay 31-26 on Sunday to reach the Super Bowl.
Arians, who has one of the most diverse staffs in the league, also hired Harold Goodwin, who is Black, as assistant head coach/run game coordinator.
The Bucs led the NFL in passing offense with Jameis Winston at quarterback in 2019, Leftwich’s first year as a full-time play caller. Tom Brady threw for 4,633 yards and a franchise-record 40 touchdowns this season.
Under Bowles, the Bucs have led the NFL in run defense each of the past two seasons. They also improved from 27th in total defense the year before Bowles’ arrival to No. 6 in 2020.
Bills: Cole Beasley was so committed to being part of what became Buffalo’s deepest postseason run in 27 years, the veteran slot receiver spent the past three weeks playing on a broken leg. The partially broken fibula will eventually heal without needing surgery. The pain of Sunday’s 38-24 loss to the
Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC championship game might linger far longer.
“I’d expect everybody to take that feeling in the offseason and do what they feel they need to get us to where we want to go,” Beasley said Monday. “We’ve got to figure out what we’ve got to do to get better ... We look forward to the challenge and look forward to another chance.”
Eagles: A league source confirmed reports that Shane Steichen will be Philadelphia’s offensive coordinator under new head coach Nick Sirianni. Steichen, 35, was the Los Angeles Chargers’ offensive coordinator.
Packers: Quarterback
Aaron Rodgers said he’s not sure what his future holds in Green Bay.
After the Packers’ fourth NFC title game loss in seven seasons, Rodgers said that “a lot of guys’ futures are uncertain, myself included.”
Rodgers has three years remaining on the four-year, $118 million extension he signed in August 2018, but the two-time MVP has acknowledged that his hopes of finishing his career in Green Bay were complicated by the Packers’ decision to select Utah State quarterback Jordan Love in the 2020 draft.
Ravens: General manager Eric DeCosta has already started making some of the tough decisions he believes can help Baltimore negotiate the leap from playoff qualifier to Super Bowl champion.
After releasing running back Mark Ingram and quarterback Robert Griffin III last week, DeCosta announced Monday that the Ravens won’t re-sign All-Pro long snapper Morgan Cox.