Mike Mccoy - Pro Football Rumors

Jets OC Chan Gailey Retires

January 3rd, 2017 at 12:33pm CST by Zachary Links

The Jets announced that offensive coordinator Chan Gailey has retired. The Jets also announced that five coaches will not return: quarterbacks coach Kevin Patullo, running backs coach Marcel Shipp, defensive line coach Pepper Johnson, outside linebackers coach Mark Collins, and defensive backs coach Joe Danna. Defensive coordinator Kacy Rodgers, apparently, will be retained.

“I’m grateful to Chan for joining our coaching staff and enjoyed working with him,” coach Todd Bowles said in the statement. “The respect that I have for him as a person and a coach only increased during our time together.”

It seems possible that Gailey would have been forced out even if he did not retire this offseason. The soon-t0-be 65-year-old oversaw an offense that had the second-worst offensive DVOA in the NFL this year. However, in 2015, Gailey’s offense that amassed a franchise-record 5,925 yards and scored 387 points, the most in a Jets season since 1998. There was lots of frustration over Gailey’s play-calling this year, but the team’s shortcomings under center probably played a bigger role.

The Jets are expected to target Eagles quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo and former Chargers coach Mike McCoy as OC options, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com and Albert Breer of The MMQB (Twitter links).

Chargers Fire Mike McCoy

January 1st, 2017 at 7:44pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

As expected, the Chargers have announced the dismissal of head coach Mike McCoy, whose job status was in serious jeopardy earlier Sunday. Chargers president of football operations John Spanos issued in a statement in the wake of McCoy’s firing.

“Mike McCoy is a man of high character, and we thank him for his dedication to the Chargers,” said Spanos. “The decision to dismiss Mike was made in the best interests of our franchise. Our team’s disappointing performance has not matched this team’s potential and has fallen short of the demanding standards that we seek to impose throughout our organization. Our comprehensive search for a new head coach begins immediately.”

The Chargers lost the final game of the McCoy era, 37-27, to the AFC West rival Chiefs in Week 17. That ensured San Diego a 5-11 finish – only a slight improvement over its 4-12 showing in 2015 – and gave McCoy a 27-37 record in four seasons as the club’s head coach.

Before the Chargers’ downward spiral over the past couple years, the McCoy-led team racked up a pair of nine-win seasons and made a playoff trip in 2013. Part of the problem this season was the fact that the Chargers lost 21 players to injured reserve, but that wasn’t enough to save McCoy’s position with the franchise. It certainly didn’t help that the Chargers suffered an ignominious loss in Week 16 to the Browns, who finished the year 1-15.

With Los Angeles relocation likely for the Chargers, they’re reportedly willing to expend resources in their search for a head coach. The Bolts will have plenty of competition from around the league – they’re now the fifth team with a vacancy, and a sixth could join the fray if the 49ers dismiss Chip Kelly.

Latest On Chargers, Mike McCoy

January 1st, 2017 at 4:51pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Chargers may not have made an official decision on the fate of head coach Mike McCoy, but it would be an “upset” if McCoy is retained for 2017, tweets Tom Pelissero of USA Today. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com adds that general manager Tom Telesco will keep his job, but team ownership will meet Monday to determine if McCoy will stick around. Meanwhile, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link) that while Telesco has recommended that McCoy be retained, San Diego is prepared to make a change.

This isn’t the first time that disparate reports have surfaced regarding McCoy’s status, which could indicate that the Chargers are truly wrestling with a decision on their head coach. Just last week, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com indicated that because the Chargers are likely to relocate to Los Angeles — and thus, compete with the Rams in a major media market — the club would like to begin its head coaching search as soon as possible.

McCoy has led the Chargers to a 5-10 record this season, and last week lost to the previously winless Browns. During his San Diego run, McCoy has posted a career mark of 27-36, and recently confirmed that the club has not offered him an extension (he’s currently signed only through 2016).

Chargers Likely To Begin Coaching Search Soon

December 25th, 2016 at 3:27pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Although the Chargers have not yet formally relieved head coach Mike McCoy of his duties, the club is fully expected to do so and will commence its search for a new coach in the near future, sources tell Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com.

Given that the Chargers are likely to relocate to Los Angeles, the team is now willing to expend resources in order to revamp its coaching search as it competes for talent with the Rams, who recently fired their head coach in Jeff Fisher. The Rams have already been linked to a number of candidates, including Jon Gruden, New Orleans head coach Sean Payton, and Atlanta offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, although Gruden has maintained that he is not interested in returning to coaching at this time.

McCoy, meanwhile, has led the Chargers to a 5-10 record this season, and yesterday lost to the previously winless Browns. During his San Diego run, McCoy has posted a career mark of 27-36, and recently confirmed that the club has not offered him an extension (he’s currently signed only through 2016). For what it’s worth, Ben Volin of the Boston Globe indicated this morning that McCoy was unlikely to be fired after the season.

Chargers HC Mike McCoy: No Extension Offer

December 20th, 2016 at 12:57pm CST by Zachary Links

In January, the Chargers made sure that Mike McCoy would not be a lame duck coach by giving him a one-year extension to take him through the 2017 season. In the midst of a disappointing year, the coach confirmed that he has yet to receive another extension, as Tom Krasovic of U-T San Diego writes.

The Chargers are now 5-9 on the year and they’ll finish with their second straight losing season. In his four years at the helm, the Bolts are just 27-35. The Chargers made it to the AFC Divisional round under McCoy in 2013, but they have not returned to the playoffs since. In a “What have you done for me lately?” league, patience is wearing thin with McCoy. The Chargers are unwilling to commit to him beyond 2017 and it’s not necessarily guaranteed that he’ll keep his job this offseason, either.

Already, we have two coaching vacancies in the league. Both the Rams and Jaguars will be seeking new coaches in the New Year. The Chargers, in theory, could join that group.

Extra Points: Chargers, Vikings, Lions, Giants

October 11th, 2016 at 9:59pm CST by Zachary Links

The Chargers will wait until after Thursday’s game against the Broncos before considering a head coaching change, a source tells Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). Club ownership is thinking through all its options, and the most likely candidate to take over the team in the event that Mike McCoy is fired is offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt. Whisenhunt, in his second stint as San Diego’s play-caller, boasts seven-plus years of head coaching experience with the Cardinals and Titans.

Here’s more from around the NFL:

Given that the club has $33MM worth of salaries on injured reserve at the moment, Vikings general manager Rick Spielman said he needed a “magic wand” in order to fit new signee Jake Long‘s cap figure, writes Andrew Krammer of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Spielman, who said Minnesota had less than $50K in cap space before adding Long, claimed he didn’t need to restructure any other contracts to squeeze in the veteran offensive lineman. It’s unclear exactly how the Vikes made financial room for Long (one possibility, from my vantage point, could be tweaking another player’s incentives to “not likely to be earned”), and Krammer reports that Spielman was “vague” about the subject.
Lions defensive lineman Kerry Hyder has made an agent change. The 25-year-old will now be represented by Select Sports Group (Twitter link). Hyder, who was previously repped by Rich Rosa and Tony Agone, appears to be in the midst a breakout season with five sacks through five games.
The NFL is now looking into Giants tackle Ereck Flowers after he pushed a reporter after Sunday night’s game, according to a league official who spoke with Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). After a poor showing against the Packers, Flowers shoved an ESPN scribe, but has since apologized for the incident.
With Dallas Thomas cut today, only three members of the Dolphins‘ nine-man 2013 draft class left are Dion Jordan, Jelani Jenkins, and Dion Sims, as Alex Marvez of The Sporting News tweets. Clearly, none of that trio has made a significant thus far in their Miami careers.

Extra Points: Fitzpatrick, Romo, Chargers

October 9th, 2016 at 9:20pm CST by Ben Levine

Let’s take a look at some assorted notes from around the NFL as we wrap up the weekend…

After having thrown nine interceptions over the past two weeks, Ryan Fitzpatrick didn’t have a turnover on Sunday. However, the Jets lost again, dropping their record to 1-4. Fortunately for the veteran, coach Todd Bowles said he isn’t planning on making a change at quarterback. However, as Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com notes, the coach did acknowledge that he’ll “examine everything.”
Chargers coach Mike McCoy was facing a “critical two-game stretch” entering this weekend, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. A firing doesn’t appear to be imminent following his team’s loss to the Raiders, but a bad showing on Thursday could spell the end of McCoy’s tenure in San Diego. Rapoport adds that some within the organization thought “a change would be made” following last week’s loss to the Saints.
It was a tough day for Chargers rookie punter Drew Kaser. His lone punt traveled only 16 yards, and he later fumbled the ball on a potential game-tying field goal. McCoy was non-committal when discussing the position after the game. “We’ll talk about that later on,” he said (via Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune on Twitter).
Cowboys owners Jerry Jones said quarterback Tony Romo will get an MRI on Monday to check on the status of his back injury, according to David Helman of DallasCowboys.com (via Twitter). Jones was also emphatic that Romo remains the team’s top quarterback, even after rookie Dak Prescott‘s hot start.

Extra Points: Coaches, Bell, Boykin

June 10th, 2016 at 8:32pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Here’s the latest from around the NFL:

Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports examined the job security of each NFL head coach entering the season. In La Canfora’s estimation, Rex Ryan (Bills), Gus Bradley (Jaguars), Jim Caldwell (Lions), Mike McCoy (Chargers), Marvin Lewis (Bengals), Bill O’Brien (Texans) and Jason Garrett (Cowboys) are the least secure coaches going into this year. Of that group, two (Lewis and O’Brien) were at the helm of playoff teams last season. Ryan has only been in Buffalo for a year, making him the shortest-tenured member of the septet.
Free agent running back Joique Bell told SiriusXM NFL Radio (audio link) on Friday that a few teams are interested in signing him. Bell added that he hopes to join his next team in July. The 29-year-old, who stated last week that he has “two or three offers on the table,” has been on the market since the Lions cut him in February.
One of Bell’s fellow free agents, cornerback Brandon Boykin, surprisingly can’t find work this offseason. One possible reason is a report that he has a degenerative hip problem – a rumor that Boykin blames Steelers defensive backs coach Carnell Lake for starting. Lake had a chance Thursday to walk back comments he made last week about Boykin’s hip, but he opted against doing so, as Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes. “I made some comments that I had at fantasy camp and I’m not going to go back on that,” said Lake. “I wish Boykin all the best; he helped us when we needed him, and I wish him the best in his career.”

Chargers Extend Mike McCoy Through 2017

January 8th, 2016 at 12:13pm CST by Luke Adams

Four days after announcing that they would be retaining Mike McCoy for the 2016 season, the Chargers have gone one step further. General manager Tom Telesco announced today that the club has added another year to McCoy’s contract, extending him through 2017 (Twitter link). The agreement will keep the San Diego head coach from entering ’16 on a lame-duck deal.

In a statement on Monday confirming the decision to retain McCoy, Chargers president of football operations John Spanos admitted that he was disappointed with the club’s results in 2015. However, he expressed confidence in San Diego’s decision-making group going forward.

“I have the utmost confidence in our leadership. Tom Telesco, Mike McCoy, and I have already begun evaluating every aspect of the team to take the essential steps to put a winning product back on the field. We will waste no time in making the necessary changes,” Spanos said. “Throughout a trying season, our players never wavered in their dedication or commitment to the team. I firmly believe the decisions made today and moving forward will get us back on track in 2016.”

Since then, the club has parted ways with offensive coordinator Frank Reich, with Telesco indicating today that the Chargers want to go in a different direction on offense, and are hoping for “a little bit more balanced” (Twitter link via Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune). Philip Rivers led the NFL in 2015 with 661 passing attempts, easily topping second-place finisher Drew Brees (627). Per Telesco, the Chargers have spoken to a “good amount of people” this week about the six vacancies on their coaching staff, but haven’t yet met with Ken Whisenhunt, who is considered a candidate to return to the team as its offensive coordinator (Twitter link via Gehlken).

As for McCoy, he’ll continue on as the Chargers’ head coach whether the franchise is playing its games in San Diego or Los Angeles in 2016. In his three years with the club, he has compiled a 22-26 record, though the 4-12 mark in 2015 contributes significantly to bringing down his winning percentage. San Diego was 9-7 in consecutive seasons in 2013 and 2014, winning a playoff game in McCoy’s first year.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Mike McCoy To Coach Chargers In 2016

January 4th, 2016 at 12:05pm CST by Luke Adams

The Chargers have informed head coach Mike McCoy that he’ll be retained for the 2016 season, reports Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune. After a disappointing 4-12 season, the Chargers are expected to make “substantial changes” to their coaching staff as early as Monday, but McCoy will be safe.

In a statement confirming the decision, Chargers president of football operations John Spanos admitted that he’s disappointed with the club’s results in 2015. However, he expressed confidence in San Diego’s decision-making group going forward.

“I have the utmost confidence in our leadership. Tom Telesco, Mike McCoy, and I have already begun evaluating every aspect of the team to take the essential steps to put a winning product back on the field. We will waste no time in making the necessary changes,” Spanos said. “Throughout a trying season, our players never wavered in their dedication or commitment to the team. I firmly believe the decisions made today and moving forward will get us back on track in 2016.”

One report last week suggested that the Chargers were leaning toward letting go of McCoy, but leading up to the team’s regular-season finale on Sunday, multiple reports indicated that the head coach was expected to keep his job after all. McCoy led the Chargers to consecutive 9-7 seasons in 2013 and 2014, earning a playoff victory in ’13, before taking a step back this year.

Albert Breer of the NFL Network noted earlier today (via Twitter) that he has heard from both Rams and Chargers people that it would be hard to run a proper coaching search with the Los Angeles situation looming, so perhaps that was a factor San Diego’s ownership considered when making the decision on McCoy, who has one year left on his contract (Twitter link).

As for the changes to the coaching staff, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link) hears that defensive coordinator John Pagano is “particularly at risk.”