Tennessee Titans interim head coach Mike McCoy.
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Tennessee Titans interim head coach Mike McCoy.
The Tennessee Titans were the first team in the NFL this season to fire their head coach. On Monday, following the team’s latest what-are-you-doing-out-there loss (this time to the Las Vegas Raiders), the Titans relieved Brian Callahan of his duties.
In his place, the Titans named Mike McCoy interim head coach. Back in March, McCoy was brought on as the senior offensive assistant on Callahan’s staff.
“I have a job to do now,” McCoy said during a Tuesday press conference. “And I am excited for that opportunity. It is an honor and a privilege to be standing here today, leading this organization. We have a lot of hard work ahead of us.
“But the one thing – and I’ve talked to the staff already and will talk to the team tomorrow – will be about togetherness. We have to stick together, that is the only way to do it. We all have a part in this, and where we are today. It is not just Brian. Every player, every coach, every person in the organization, we have to hold each other accountable.”
Mike McCoy knows he’s dealing with an extremely frustrated fan base
The Titans are 1-5 and, let’s be honest, there aren’t a lot of signs for any kind of hope. The team looks lost and they don’t seem to have the roster talent to overcome a lot of the mistakes.
“With regards to our fan base, I understand the frustration,” McCoy said. “Our (1-5) record is what it is. But I can promise you we are going to work our tails off every day we walk in this facility, as a coaching staff, as players, to go out there and do whatever we can to give us our best opportunity to win, and that’s what it is all about. It’s about winning. So, we have to go out there and play with great energy, great effort, play with a swagger, complementary football.
“All three phases playing together, that is the big thing. We all understand where we are, that we’ve struggled on offense. And we have to fix that. And that is the No. 1 thing we have to do right now moving forward, we have to fix it and clean up some things on offense. When you play complementary football and help each other out, good things are going to happen.
“So, to the fans, we are going to go out there, and we are going to fight our tails off and get rolling.”
He’s not kidding in the least, but I’m just not sure that what he’s talking about is achievable.
Mike McCoy needs to get Cam Ward going
The only thing that will really get this fan base to chill out and take a more optimistic approach would be if McCoy can develop rookie quarterback Cam Ward.
McCoy says he’s committed to putting Ward in the best positions to succeed and that could be different for every game.
“What does Cam do best?” McCoy said. “And what do we do best as an offense? We have to look at our scheme and what we are doing, and it is going to change from week to week.”
The good news for McCoy is that there really is nowhere to go but up.