Oakland Raiders: Five Who Should Be Considered For OC Job In 2018
By Kevin Saito
McCoy was the designated scapegoat in Denver when their season started to go off the rails. It’s hard to pin all of the blame on him however. Could anybody have really done much better with a quarterback room inhabited by the likes of Trevor Siemian, Paxton Lynch, and Brock Osweiler?
As an offensive coordinator, McCoy has some solid credentials. In 2009, his offensive scheme led Kyle Orton to have a career year – throwing for 3,802 yards, on 62 percent passing, 21 touchdowns to just 12 interceptions.
In 2010, the Broncos had the league’s seventh-ranked passing attack, with Orton being in the top-five in passing yards per game, league-wide. The next year though, saw Tebow-mania infect Denver and in response, McCoy altered his scheme to suit his personnel – something Downing has failed to do all year long.
With Tim Tebow under center for Denver, the Broncos weren’t nearly as much of a passing threat as they’d been with Kyle Orton at the controls. Impressively enough, McCoy altered his scheme and the Broncos turned around led the NFL in rushing in 2011.
Outside of an inspired late season charge that saw his then-San Diego Chargers make the postseason and win a Wild Card game, McCoy’s tenure as San Diego’s head coach wasn’t all that terrific. There were some mitigating circumstances, such as an insane amount of injuries and just bad luck, but his 27-37 record with the Chargers just wasn’t all that great.
And then of course, came his stint as Denver’s OC this year, and the rest is history.
GM Reggie McKenzie and Del Rio would be wise to talk to McCoy. No, he’s not the sexiest pick out there, but he’s solid as an offensive coordinator, has plenty of experience, puts together a good game plan (as evidenced by his success against the Raiders over his career).
And most importantly, is flexible enough to adjust his scheme to fit the personnel he has on hand, rather than try to shoehorn them into a rigid structure that doesn’t play to their strengths.