While Mike McCoy helped the then-San Diego Chargers to their first postseason berth in four years and their first postseason win in five years during his first season as the team's head coach in 2013 after taking over for Norv Turner, that was as good as things got for the Bolts during his four-year run with the franchise.
In 2014, the Chargers finished with the same 9-7 record they had the season before but finished third in the AFC West and missed out on the postseason. In 2015, they weren't competitive at all, going 0-6 within the division en route to a 4-12 overall record, finishing last in the AFC West and 14th in the conference.
And 2016 brought more of the same, as the Chargers, despite the addition of Defensive Rookie of the Year Joey Bosa, finished with only five wins, which led to McCoy's firing, which became a common occurrence over the next couple of years, as he was fired as the Denver Broncos' offensive coordinator during the 2017 season and again as the Arizona Cardinals' OC during the 2018 campaign.
After being out of the NFL for several years, McCoy spent the last three seasons as the Jacksonville Jaguars' quarterbacks coach before joining the Tennessee Titans ahead of this current campaign as a senior offensive assistant and was recently promoted to interim head coach following the firing of Brian Callahan after the Titans' 20-10 defeat to the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 6.
The move has clearly meant nothing whatsoever, as Tennessee took a 31-13 loss to the New England Patriots in Week 7 and was steamrolled by the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday by a score of 38-14. As Chargers fans know well, McCoy has never been one to take big risks, and Titans rookie quarterback Cam Ward found that out on Sunday, as his new head coach had a chance to attempt to keep the Titans somewhat competitive against the NFL's best team but failed to do so, leading the No. 1 overall pick to give him an earful.
Cam Ward gave Mike McCoy the business after his decision to punt on a short 4th-down attempt
Heavy underdogs heading into the Week 8 matchup, the Titans kept things closer than anyone could have expected them to in the first half, getting to within three at 10-7 following a Ward touchdown pass in the second quarter and trailing by only 10 at the break.
With the Colts leading just 17-7 in the third quarter, the Titans faced a 4th-and-3 situation at the Colts' 42-yard line on their opening offensive drive of the second half. While Ward clearly wanted to go for the first down, McCoy had other ideas, instead opting to punt the ball away. As he made his way toward the sideline after the offense got yanked off the field, Ward could clearly be seen shouting in McCoy's direction, saying, "The (expletive) are we doing, Mike? Go for it!"
The punt ultimately resulted in a touchback, and Indianapolis ended up scoring on the very first play of the ensuing possession, as Jonathan Taylor ran 80 yards for a touchdown, with the extra point giving the Colts a 24-3 advantage, thus effectively putting the game out of reach.
Ward continued to express his frustration in his postgame press conference but did also take responsibility for not getting the first down sooner, which is a positive thing to come from a rookie.
"If it was up to me, I’d want to go for it every chance I could… that’s what I want to do with my football journey. It was the missed opportunities for us as a team to get a first down, keep the drive alive. We weren’t down that much at that time, so I was supportive of the decision made, but at the end of the day, we shouldn’t put ourselves in that position, just get the first down on third down."
McCoy did end up saying he regretted his decision in his own presser and says he didn't hear Ward barking at him during the game.
One has to wonder if the Titans will be a bit more aggressive when they host the Chargers at Nissan Stadium this Sunday. But knowing McCoy, that probably won't be the case.