Mike McCoy Answered a Question Today About Playcalling That Has Terrifying Implications

Like most (all? I really hope all) Chargers fans, I was pleased with the Chargers moving on from embattled, stubborn, reductive, clueless, stubborn, out of his depth, stubborn, robotic, stubborn, arrogant, psychologically weak now former Head Coach Mike McCoy this offseason.

I mean, except for the part where it should have happened years ago. Years. Ago. Ugh.

So why talk about him other than in regards to the Falcons epic Super Bowl collapse as being peak #McCoy? Well, he was hired as the offensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos (and therefore facing off against his offenses’ twice a year for the foreseeable future) and at the most recent Broncos press conference, the rarely (RARELY) candid Mike McCoy answered a question on the subject of offensive playcalling that should be drawing far more attention than it has thus far.

In fact, I would consider it, if at all true, to be the most chilling statement with regards to the Chargers near-future:

That’s right, Mike McCoy, the single constant with regard to the offensive playcalling and game planning, alleged that he did not call any plays during his entire head coaching stint.

If true, that means a significant portion of the offensive flaws (in particular, situational play calls and decisions) of last year’s offense would fall on the head of the then-play-caller, current Chargers Offensive Coordinator (and alleged offensive genius) Ken Whisenhunt. That alone should send a chill down the spine of Chargers fans who suffered through the 2016 season. Add to that the fans who remember the mistakes in the 2013 season that lead to awful losses against Washington, Tennessee and Oakland, and those who paid attention to how inept Tennessee appeared to be under his stewardship as head coach, and well... Woof.

Furthermore, for the people like me who can’t help but point how arguably inept, but definitely stubborn, the front office of the Chargers continues to be, it’s a red flag. It’s a red flag the size of the biggest possible lead the Chargers could blow in the 4th quarter. It’s a red flag that calls to attention the mistake it seems to be to have retained Whisenhunt in the first place, one that due to the myriad of mistimed pieces (Telesco, Lynn, Bradley, etc.) could take years to correct.

Now, obviously, McCoy might not be telling the full truth here. Though he may have little to no grasp of the tonal and communicative nuances of being a head coach and the verbal skills of a toaster, McCoy likely isn’t completely clueless. He likely is aware that as the new offensive coordinator of the Broncos under a defensive minded head coach, there will be questions about how the offense will run.

In particular, there will be concerns as to whether McCoy’s offense in Denver will be less of a disaster than they were in San Diego.

So, as a shorthand to assuage those concerns, McCoy could have resorted to telling a white lie about the nature of playcalling during his dismal tenure as head coach in San Diego. After all, misleading the public and Broncos fans would immediately negate concerns about his fitness to coach and coordinate the Broncos offense based on his time in San Diego.

“Oh thank god,” the typical Broncos fan will go, sighing out of relief, “It won’t be anything like how poorly run those recent Chargers offenses were. That’s good to hear. I expect him to bring our offense back to our glory days before he left.”

“Yep. Those were the good ol’ days.”

For our sake, let’s hope he’s trying to pull a fast one over the eyes of Broncos fans much in the same way he managed to blow 16 4th quarter leads as head coach of the Chargers.

Otherwise?... Yikes.