Since he was announced as the new Bucs offensive coordinator, Byron Leftwich got his first chance to speak with the media on Friday. Leftwich is once again reunited with Bucs coach Bruce Arians, who he played for as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and then later joined his coaching staff on the Arizona Cardinals.

Here is a transcript of the introductory press conference with Leftwich:

(On his reaction to having the opportunity to work with Bruce Arians again)
“It’s exciting, I kind of had an idea of where he was at, just talking to him throughout the year. We all know what type of guy Bruce is, how great it is to work for him, so much you can learn from him on a day to day basis, so, it’s just good to be back in the building with him. I missed him last year, but it’s just good to be back in the building, it’s good to be here especially with the guys we have here. This is an exciting time for me, an exciting time for all the coaches and we’re getting ready to work.”

(On his early impressions of Jameis Winston and if there’s any interactions he’s had with him)
“We’ve actually talked before this, just in passing and other situations, so I’m excited to work with him. I believe in this kid, this kid can really play, I think there’s things that we all got to get better at as each individual player, but I’m really excited to work with him and really excited to put him in positions where he can be successful, just like everyone else.”

(On what jumps out at him when he watches Jameis Winston)
“He’s a playmaker. He’s a playmaker from the second he’s got in this league. This kid’s played four years and he’s only 25 or something like that, it’s amazing the situation that he’s already been in, the experience he’s gained being in this league. I’m excited about that, I’m excited not just with Jameis, but everybody. The key to this thing when you’re coordinating the offense, you’re coordinating the defense is to put your playmakers in position to make plays, and we will do that, we will do that to the best of our ability. We’re excited about the personnel that we do have here, it’s hard to find better especially on the offensive side of the football anywhere, so we’re excited to get working with Jameis, we’re excited to get working with the other guys, it’s just get ready to get going. Hopefully we can speed this thing up and get on the grass as quick as possible.”

(On if he would like to see DeSean Jackson return next year)
“Anytime you have a player that can do what DeSean can do, I mean who are we kidding, right? You guys see it, he’s a special player, he’s been a special player in this league since he stepped foot in this league. I don’t know how their chemistry was with them two in the past, but it’s our job as coaches to work our tail off to make sure those two work their tail off collectively so they’re on the same track, so they can get the ball to each other, we can get the ball to him and just be on the same page. Anytime you have players like that, you want as many of those guys as possible, I don’t know what happened here in the past, I’m not even worried about that, to be honest with you. I’m so focused on the future and the players that we have, I’m so excited just watching film getting here not too long ago, having the opportunity to get my eyes on the film and see what these guys did last year. This is a unique group, special group, and I’m excited to get the opportunity to work with them.”

(On if he has reached out to Desean Jackson, after Jackson told TMZ that he has yet to speak to Bruce Arians)
“I have not reached out to him, I will reach out to him very shortly. This is really my first day in so I will reach out to him like I reach out to everybody. He told TMZ?”

(On what his differences are from Bruce Arians as a play caller)
“I think each individual play caller is different. I mean I learned a lot from Bruce, I know what he’s thinking, like I said, I’ve been shoulder to shoulder with him since I became coach. Even when I was a player when I was backup quarterback in Pittsburgh, I would sit next to Bruce and we would talk a lot, a lot, so, I’m quite sure there will be differences. It’ll still be no risk it, no biscuit, part two, but the good thing is I’ll always have him there. I’ll always have him there if something is catching me by surprise or anything like that, I always got Bruce there for me if I ever need him. It’s going to be exciting, you guys have no clue how exciting we are as coaches to be here.”

(On if there’s any added pressure on him taking over one of the best offenses in the NFL)
“It’s better than the opposite. This is great, this is what it’s about, the key is to have enough players to give yourself an opportunity to win football games. Obviously especially on the offensive side of the ball, I haven’t had the chance to see the defense, we have that. So now it’s putting guys in the positions to make plays so we can win football games. It’s not really never about a number or stats here, we got to find a way to do what we can to win football games, and I just love the coaches that we have here, as a whole, I know these guys, I know their thought process, I know how good they are as coaches, so I’m excited to get out there to try to do what we can to win football games for this organization.”

(On how important it is to know in the locker room who the starting quarterback is without switching between two.)
Jameis. Just Jameis. I think it’s a very important thing. I’ve been in as a quarterback going through this league, I’ve been through the high’s of high and the low’s of lows right. So I always tell guys ‘I’ve been through the blender, I’ve been the franchise quarterback, and then I was a guy that nobody said could never play.’ And that’s just part of playing quarterback in this business, so as a team, the locker room knows, the locker room knows who the quarterback of this football team is, we know who the quarterback of this football team is. We as coaches just got to do a better job of putting guys in position and making sure we’re doing the right things day in and day out so we can be successful on Sundays, because that’s all these guys really care about. As players, all you really want to know is help me become a better football player and put me in positions to help win football games, and we’ll do that.”

(On between him, Bruce Arians, and quarterback coach Clyde Christensen, if he’s worried about having too many voices in Jameis Winston’s ear)
“No, no, not at all. He’ll hear a lot from me, I’m quite sure he’ll hear a lot from BA, he’ll hear a lot from Clyde. We’ll be one voice though, we’ll all be saying the same thing. That’s the great thing about being on this staff, you have relationships with these guys, I have relationships with them, I have an understanding of what we’re going to teach Jameis, what we’re telling him, what we’re expecting, how we’re going to execute on a play in and play out basis. He’ll hear from different people, that’s everybody, every team has a head coach, an offensive coordinator, and a quarterback coach.”

(On the biggest leaps he’s made since when he first got into coaching)
“The greatest thing that ever happened to me last year was the last two months of last year. Just being in that situation, we lost so many guys, I mean so many guys were on IR here from what ended up, but we lost a lot of guys last year. And to be able to go out and be in that situation, I got better as a coach last year just being in that situation, being in a situation that’s not ideal because everyone’s hurt, sometimes you have 7-8 rookies in the huddle, I don’t think we had four draft picks, so those type of things are things that I learned, that I was never able to experience in my earlier years as a coach. I got that opportunity to experience those things and I think I became a better coach from that.”

(On if there are similarities between Ben Roethlisberger and Jameis Winston)
“I’ve always said that. I remember watching Jameis Winston’s first game in Pittsburgh when he was a college football player and I won’t say who was around the table but we were talking about Jameis back then. We were talking about how for a kid to be able to come in and do what he did in his first game, I remember like it was yesterday, and the people that were sitting around at the table, we know that this kid had a chance to be really, really good.”

(On how he will try to prepare Jameis Winston to eliminate turnovers)
“Well first I have got to learn him first. I have got to learn Jameis, learn how he thinks, how he executes, what he does well and what he doesn’t do well. Next, I got to get those things better as a whole. It’s tough to say exactly how to do that because there’s different reasons for turnovers, a lot of different reasons for turnovers, and as the quarterback we all understand it goes on you every time, so you got to watch him. Once I get an opportunity to watch him as a whole, see what really caused the turnovers, get a chance to know Jameis, really know him, because like I always say, you can’t call plays for a guy until you know a guy. Our personalities as a quarterback show in our play regardless of what anyone say, our personality shows how you play, so I got to get an opportunity to learn this kid, and once I get chance to learn Jameis, then I can answer those questions. Right now I’m just trying to look at the personnel, see the players that we do have on this team, and just think of ways of trying to get these guys in positions so they can be successful. We want these guys to be them best selves, we don’t want guys holding back, we want them to come in everyday, wanting to be the complete best football player they can be possibly be, and that’s our job as coaches to motivate them and help them get there.”

(On with many African American coaches being on the defensive side of the ball, if he feels he has an added responsibility to carry the torch for African American offensive coaches like he and Chargers coach Anthony Lynn)
“I’ve actually talked to Anthony Lynn about this, he was the running backs coach my rookie year, so, I have a great relationship with him. That’s a tough situation right? Because how can you put any more pressure on yourself then you already have coaching in the National Football League, regardless of what color you are, right? Who are we kidding, there’s only 32 of these jobs with whatever position you really have, so it’s already pressure that comes with the position. Do I feel a responsibility? I feel a responsibility to my last name, to my family, and also to African American coaches just to be successful. Not that I go out and think of it that way, I just want to be the best coach that I can possibly be, and hopefully that’s good enough to inspire anybody, to help anybody as a player. I don’t really view it that way, I don’t see it that way, it all depends on what time of year it is, these things are always going back and forth. We’re just going to coach these guys and get these guys ready to play.”

(On being a part of an an all African American group when he played for the Jaguars and then Bucs in 2009, his view on the lack of African American quarterbacks in today’s NFL, and being an African American coach with an African American quarterback)
“I think we were the first group in Jacksonville to have three. It was me, David Garrard, and Quinn Gray, so this is not new to me. I’ve been a black guy my whole life, I’ve been in the quarterback room my whole life, so it’s exciting to coach this type of player, regardless of what color Jameis is. I just think this kid can really play, I think he can really play and it’s my, our job as coaches put these guys, like I said it’s not just Jamies, to put these guys in position, truly put them in position to have success and try to win some football games.”

(On if he wants to be a head coach one day)
“I’m quite sure we all do. I’m so early in my coaching career that I’m just trying to be the best offensive coordinator I can be right now. I’ve been a quarterback’s coach for two years, I think I have an understanding of the position, and what we need to do. I’m just excited to get going, I can’t wait until we get on the field, I really never like this time of the year because it’s a lot of this. I love you guys, but I would rather be on the football field. We have time for that, now we have time to install our system, make sure the players have an understanding of what we’re asking them to do, I think that’s very important to be able to ask players, to be able to tell players what you need them to do. My history of understanding that good football players just want to be told what to do, put me in position, and they can’t wait to make plays. So we’re going to try and create that environment around here, we don’t care who makes the play, we just want guys to be them best selves and try to make as many plays as possible.”