Jaguars HC Search: Mike McCoy
By Luke Sims
With Thursday’s firing of head coach Mike Mularkey, the Jacksonville Jaguars are in the market for a new head coach. While some teams, like the Kansas City Chiefs and the Cleveland Browns, have started filling their vacancies, the Jaguars are just beginning. Potential candidates range, but the proposed emphasis seems to be on offensive coordinators. Enter Mike McCoy, the Denver Broncos’ offensive coordinator.
Jason LaCanfora continues to point us toward potential HC candidates and notes that the Jaguars will look to interview McCoy if the Broncos lose their divisional playoff game to the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday. The top ranked Broncos may well continue on and McCoy – along with San Francisco 49ers OC Greg Roman and other Jags candidates – may not be available for an interview until after the playoffs.
Tebow benefitted greatly from McCoy’s willingness and ability to adapt. Source: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports
McCoy earned a lot of attention last season with his complete overhaul of the Denver offense to accomodate Tim Tebow at quarterback. The passing offense finished 31st in the league (32nd in attempts), but the rushing offense finished first and provided a decent ball-control complement to the punishing Denver defense. Tebow consistently found magic in McCoy’s schemes, despite struggles throughout games. The Broncos managed to make the playoffs and shock the Pittsburgh Steelers in overtime. With the arrival of Peyton Manning, McCoy’s offense has reached even greater heights.
The versatility of McCoy may be his most intriguing factor. McCoy has shown that he is able to generate a decent offense with a Tebow type quarterback, a mediocre standard quarterback in Kyle Orton, and with a legend in Manning. His offenses are balanced (leaning toward the pass, usually) and use well thought out schemes that force the defense to play to the Broncos’ strengths. McCoy’s tasks in bringing in a rehabilitating Manning or in scrapping an entire system on the fly in favor of Tebow are not to be overlooked. Not many coaches are able to find success by completely changing their philosophy and investing in something that does not seem natural to them.
In McCoy’s case, it has worked out well. If the Jaguars get a chance to interview McCoy soon I would imagine he quickly becomes one of the top candidates. I like his body of work and I think that his ability to adapt is desirable in a head coach. His four seasons as an OC have shown growth and that McCoy is not afraid of change.
– Luke N. Sims
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