Mike

McCoy

McCoy, 49, was a longtime Panthers assistant before going to the Broncos as OC in 2009 and then landing the Chargers’ head-coaching gig from 2013-2016, going 27-37 in San Diego. He was last in the NFL as the Cardinals’ OC in 2018. In Jacksonville, McCoy will be tasked with developing Trevor Lawrence under new coach Doug Pederson.

New coach Matt Rhule has already tapped wiz kid Joe Brady to be his play-caller. McCoy spent 2019 out of the league after his ill-fated 2018 stint coordinating the Cardinals’ offense (for seven games). Also interviewing Ben McAdoo, Rhule appears to be seeking an experienced sounding board for his green OC.

McCoy has been fired during the season by two different organizations in the last two years. The Jaguars are not an enticing landing spot for an offensive coach, but they should be able to do better.

Wilks said he knew the question was coming. The fact that he did not offer up an outright denial is ominous for OC Mike McCoy’s odds of having a job come Week 8. McCoy has been outrageously bad this season, criminally misusing David Johnson while seeming utterly clueless as to rookie quarterback Josh Rosen’s strengths and weaknesses. The in-season firing would be McCoy’s second-straight after he was canned by Denver last November. QBs coach Byron Leftwich would be in line to take over.

The Cardinals had to make this move. Once viewed as an up-and-coming offensive mind after his work in Denver with Kyle Orton and Tim Tebow, McCoy got a head-coaching gig in San Diego, lasting four years there before then going back to Denver last year as their OC. He was fired mid-season, and has now been canned the second-straight year in the middle of the year. McCoy has about run his course as a play-caller. QBs coach Byron Leftwich is Arizona’s new OC.

Now 23-29 as Bolts coach, McCoy’s team has suffered a series of hard-to-believe collapses over the season’s first four games. Each of the 1-3 Chargers’ losses have come after the team led in the fourth quarter, with two of the meltdowns coughing up 13-point leads. No other team in the league has surrendered a 13-point fourth quarter lead this season. All the choking has come on the heels of a 2015 that featured one stupefying loss after another. McCoy appears poised to keep his job for Week 5, but his seat is white hot.

“I don’t know where yet,” McCoy said. “Whenever the right decision needs to be made, that’s when I’ll decide.” McCoy looked overmatched at times in his first attempt as a head coach, but he was a quality offensive coordinator in Denver before landing the Chargers job. He should be able to find a spot on a coaching staff if he wants one.

There have been reports it’s already a done deal, but it’s apparently not over the finish line yet. McCoy is a respected offensive mind who was out of his depth as a head coach. He’d be a great asset for first time head coach Vance Joseph.

It would be a reunion, as McCoy served as the Broncos’ coordinator from 2010-12, working with Kyle Orton, Tim Tebow and Peyton Manning. McCoy also did a strong job with Philip Rivers in San Diego, though he ultimately proved overmatched as a head coach. McCoy would be an excellent hire for an offense with a few nice pieces, but a number of question marks, including which direction it should go following the retirement of coach Gary Kubiak.

One of the NFL’s most creative offensive game planners in Carolina and Denver before arriving in San Diego, McCoy was simply overmatched as a head coach. He went 9-7 in his first two seasons before slumping to 4-12 and 5-11 the past two years, dealing with persistent bad injury luck but also overseeing a team that frequently melted down late in games. McCoy should land on his feet quickly as an offensive coordinator. Chargers GM Tom Telesco’s future is unclear.