Tampa Bay fans despise Greg Schiano right now, and Buccaneers defensive tackle Gerald McCoy understands that when a team is 0-7, the coach is going to hear the boos. But McCoy thinks some Buccaneers fans are taking it too far.
McCoy said the invective directed at Schiano from the stands as he walked back to the locker room after Thursday night’s loss was unacceptable.
“If you want to be angry about the game or what’s going on, be angry because we’re angry, too. But don’t disrespect him as a man,” McCoy said, via ESPN.com. “That man has a wife. He has kids at home. We have wives and kids. Just keep it to football. Don’t take it outside of that. If you want to be whatever in football, that’s OK. Be angry. We expect you to be angry. Nobody wants to be 0-7. But just leave everything else alone. Just keep it to the game. It’s still just a game. We’ve got lives outside of football. When you disrespect a man as a person, then you’re taking it too far.”
It’s not clear exactly what fans said on Thursday night that McCoy felt crossed the line, but McCoy is right that fans should be civil and not hurl insults at Schiano’s family. The good news for Schiano and his family is that they’ll probably only be living in Tampa for another couple months.