Josh McCown won't be on the playing field again this season, but he'll be making in-game decisions for the New York Jets when they play the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.
Jets coach Todd Bowles said Thursday that McCown will be a player-coach for the team this week after the veteran quarterback asked about being assigned the responsibility.
"Yes, I can see that in him," Bowles said when asked if McCown has the traits necessary to succeed in coaching. "If that's what he wants to do, I can see him being an excellent coach when he's done playing."
It makes sense the Jets would have McCown provide some guidance to a young quarterback stable that figures to have a very challenging Sunday against a Saints team eager to bounce back from last week's loss to the Atlanta Falcons. McCown's player-coach role likely will be an extension to the mentor role he's fulfilled for Bryce Petty and Christian Hackenberg since joining the team.
McCown exceeded expectations for a Jets team that has made many of the winless or one-win prognostications from the offseason seem laughable now. His season ended Sunday when he suffered a broken hand in the Jets' 23-0 loss to the Denver Broncos.
The quarterback completed 67.3 of his passes for 2,926 yards, 18 touchdowns and just nine interceptions -- not bad for a 38-year-old a lot pundits thought was washed up coming into the season.
