LeSean McCoy approves the Buffalo Bills' decision to hire Sean McDermott as their new head coach.
Appearing on NFL Network's Good Morning Football, the star running back noted that he'd spent two years with McDermott in Philadelphia (where the coach was the defensive coordinator) in 2009, 2010. McCoy believes McDermott owns the right temperament and discipline to succeed as a head coach -- but made sure not to blast former Bills coach Rex Ryan.
"I like Sean," McCoy said. "Even when I played in Philly he was there and he had heart, I liked him. I think kind of back then he had to get the scapegoat. Something is going on, you know how it is, you gotta bring in somebody. He's tough, he's honest and he's fair. I think he's the right guy for the job. The guys in Buffalo, we need somebody we can believe in and trust. And not to say anything bad about Rex because I love Rex. I was actually behind Rex's staying. I think it's more the players, we need to step up more. But I think that Sean is a guy who will get it done."
The "scapegoating" McCoy referred to was McDermott getting terminated in January 2011 after Philly got bounced in the wild-card round in back-to-back seasons. In two seasons as Eagles coordinator, McDermott's defenses ranked 12th in the NFL in yards allowed per game and 20th in points per game given up. He spent the past six years in Carolina, leading defenses that ranked among the top-six twice.
As McCoy did in the aftermath of a rocky season, he reiterated that the Bills' struggles in 2016 stemmed from a lack of discipline under the previous coaching staff.
"You know, I think the thing we miss most is the discipline, guys being accountable," he said. "This is a team game, you need everybody. You need 11 guys on the field to get the job done and it starts before Sunday. It's the preparation, the leadership, the accountability to win games in this league."
McCoy hit on plenty of topics during his visit with Good Morning Football, so let's do a quick rundown:
On division rival Tom Brady making another Super Bowl:
"I'm actually happy for Tom. Now, I play for Buffalo, don't get me wrong, same division. But I love a player who is building on his legacy. It would mean a lot to see him win another championship. He's going down as one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game. You know, to build that legacy is hard, this league is hard. If fans and people only know how hard it is -- for that guy to keep going and going back to championships. And after this whole year with the ... I don't want to talk about it, if he were right or wrong or whatever it is, you know, they punished him. And he came right back strong. So that's amazing, an accomplishment."
On Shady's reaction two years ago to being traded for Kiko Alonso:
"And at the time, I didn't know who that was ... I just didn't understand it. Usually when guys get traded it's a money situation or their game has declined, and those two things just weren't off."
(Sidebar: I can totally believe McCoy's first reaction to the trade was 'who the (expletive) is Coco Alon-Zo??')
On why Philly traded him:
"I'm not sure. That's something I can't answer. Only thing I can think about and tell you the truth is this: Where I'm at now, I'm with a team I'm happy to be with and they reached out when I got traded and they gave me a contract. They've been special to me, very special, in a good way, so I'm happy."
On the backlash to his comments bashing Chip Kelly:
"I was honest. But you know what? I kind of noticed that after the fact when he had that team (in Philadelphia) go down and they fired him and (he) went to San Fran and the same thing happened over there, then it like, 'OK, maybe LeSean McCoy was right.' But it took forever, right. So it took a year or two just (with) the heat and the backlash. But I'm an honest person ... nothing wrong with that."
Did McCoy put a little extra effort into his three-TD performance versus Kelly and the 49ers this season?
"Yeah, just a little bit. (When) we played them in Philly and I was kind of still banged up, I couldn't give him my full potential that game. So I made sure this last one we played them, I gave them the real Shady. The one he remembers playing with."