Byron Leftwich reportedly ‘dream candidate’ for Marshall head coach job

The Marshall Thundering Herd are in need of a new football coach, and may be looking to the NFL to get one.

According to Bruce Feldman of The Athletic, Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich is the “dream candidate” for the job. Leftwich, a former Marshall quarterback, is finishing his second year in his current job, and is highly regarded in NFL coaching circles.

While Marshall is expected to try to land Leftwich, there is an understanding that it will be difficult for the school to lure him away from the NFL, especially since Leftwich is viewed as a potential future head coach in the league.

Leftwich was a dominant quarterback for Marshall. He’s one of the school’s greatest players, and even parlayed his success there into becoming the seventh overall pick in the 2003 NFL Draft. Bringing him back would represent a homecoming, and the fans would love it.

That said, as another school recently found out, it’s very hard to entice a hot young coach into leaving the NFL, even if sentimentality is on their side.