Mike McCoy (American football coach)

Michael Patrick McCoy (born April 1, 1972) is an American professional football coach and former quarterback who is the interim head coach of the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He has previously spent time as the quarterbacks coach for the Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars, the offensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos and Arizona Cardinals, and four seasons as head coach of the San Diego Chargers from 2013 to 2016.

After graduating from San Marin High School in Novato, California, McCoy attended California State University, Long Beach, where he redshirted his first year. During his redshirt freshman season in 1991, McCoy played in eight games for the Long Beach State 49ers, starting five of them. He completed 87 of 165 passes for 938 yards, seven touchdowns and three interceptions.^[1]

When Long Beach State discontinued its football program in December 1991,^[2] McCoy transferred to the University of Utah.^[1] In his first season with the Utes, he served primarily as the backup to senior Frank Dolce. McCoy saw action in six games, starting two contests while Dolce was injured.^[3][4] He continued as the starter for the 1993 and 1994 seasons, with career totals at Utah of 7,404 passing yards, 49 touchdowns, and 23 interceptions for a rating of 146.1.^[5]

McCoy's collegiate career ended dramatically in 1994 when he threw a game-winning, five-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Kevin Dyson in the final minute to give Utah a 16–13 win over Arizona in the Freedom Bowl.^[6] McCoy led the Utes to a season-ending top ten national ranking.

After going unselected in the 1995 NFL draft, McCoy signed with the Denver Broncos as a rookie free agent but was cut during the preseason. In November of that year, the Green Bay Packers signed him to their practice squad following injuries to Brett Favre and his backup Ty Detmer. McCoy also had stints with the Amsterdam Admirals, San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles and Seattle Seahawks.^[7] McCoy played two years in the CFL with the Calgary Stampeders behind Dave Dickenson.^[8]

From 2000 to 2008, McCoy served on the Carolina Panthers coaching staff, appearing in Super Bowl XXXVIII with the Panthers.

After the 2008 season, McCoy was hired to be the new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach of the Denver Broncos.^[9] In 2009, then-Broncos QB Kyle Orton enjoyed a career year under McCoy, posting career highs in virtually every passing category. The following year, the Broncos passing attack ranked seventh in the NFL, and Orton ranked fourth in the league in passing yards per game. McCoy revamped the Broncos offense in 2011 to accommodate Tim Tebow's skill-set, and the Broncos led the NFL in rushing.^[10]

On December 31, 2012, Chicago Bears head coach Lovie Smith was fired, and the Bears asked the Broncos for permission to interview McCoy for the head coach position.^[11] In addition to the Bears, the Arizona Cardinals, Buffalo Bills, San Diego Chargers, and Philadelphia Eagles also asked and were granted permission to interview McCoy for their vacant head coaching positions during the Broncos' playoff bye week.^[12] When asked about McCoy being a hot head coaching candidate, Denver head coach John Fox responded, "he’s a heck-of-a coach."

On January 15, 2013, McCoy became the head coach of the San Diego Chargers, succeeding Norv Turner.^[13] McCoy was the youngest active head coach in the NFL and the second-youngest in team history; Al Saunders was 39 years old when he became head coach in 1986. McCoy earned his first win as a head coach on September 15, 2013, against Chip Kelly and the Philadelphia Eagles.

Starting the season with a paltry 4–6 record, the Chargers won five of their last six games, including four straight to end the season, and finished the regular season with a 9–7 record. McCoy led the Chargers to a playoff berth as the #6-seed. The Chargers had not made the playoffs since 2009. They upset the Cincinnati Bengals to a 27–10 victory in the Wild Card round. This was the Chargers' first playoff victory since 2008. However, their win streak would end in the Divisional Round with a 24–17 loss to the eventual AFC Champion Denver Broncos.

Despite their success in 2013, the Chargers went 9–7, 4–12, and 5–11 in the next three seasons. McCoy was fired on January 1, 2017 after their 37–27 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. He ended his Chargers tenure with a 28–38 record.^[14] A little over two weeks later, the Chargers announced their intention to move to Los Angeles after 56 years in San Diego, making McCoy the last person to coach a professional football team in the city until Mike Martz coached the San Diego Fleet of the Alliance of American Football in 2019. To date, McCoy is the last person to coach an NFL team in the city.

On January 13, 2017, McCoy was named the offensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos.^[15] He was fired after a six-game losing streak on November 20.

On January 25, 2018, McCoy was hired by the Arizona Cardinals as the offensive coordinator, replacing Harold Goodwin.^[16] On October 19, McCoy was fired after offensive struggles with the team and was replaced by Byron Leftwich.^[17]

On February 7, 2022, McCoy was hired by the Jacksonville Jaguars to serve as the team's quarterbacks coach.^[18]

On March 6, 2025, McCoy was hired by the Tennessee Titans as a senior offensive assistant.^[19] On October 14, McCoy was appointed as the interim head coach after Brian Callahan was fired.^[20][21]

*Interim head coach

A native of Novato, California, McCoy and his wife, Kellie, have two children: Olivia and Luke.^[22]

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