Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy returned to Denver this year after his stint as head coach of the Chargers. On Monday night, the Broncos host the Chargers to open the season. Which means that McCoy has had his brain picked plenty.
“I think I’ve answered plenty of questions, whether it’s the staff here or the players here for some tips,” McCoy told reporters on Friday. “It’s all about the players going out there and executing. We’re going to put plans in and we’re going to talk to them about everything, but it’s important that they use the information we give them to go out there and study on their own. It does help just talking about the preparation part of it, what type of players they have and what they like to do in certain situations as players. It’s all about the 11 guys in all three phases going out there and playing.”
He’s right, but the more those 11 guys know about the guys they’ll be facing, the better prepared they may be. McCoy generally is better prepared to serve in the job he once performed well enough to become a head coach, given the experience as a head coach. He was asked specifically what he learned from the experience.
“Well I’m gray,” McCoy said with a laugh. “I’ve aged a little bit -- I’ve learned so much as a coach. I was very fortunate to work with some great coaches there and I spent so much time with the defensive staff in the meetings. Learning so much about scheme, technique and how we were going to try to take [Demaryius Thomas] out of the game and things like that. I learned those from being with [former Chargers defensive coordinator] John Pagano and the rest of the defensive staff. Being around some offensive coaches and being involved in the kicking game, I learned so much more about the game. It’s interesting now, every once in a while [head coach Vance Joseph] will walk in my office and say some things and I kind of just smile, ‘Hey, that’s your decision these days I don’t have to worry about that anymore.’ There’s a lot on his plate, but it was a great experience.”
McCoy is now hoping for an even better experience, ideally doing enough back in Denver to get another chance to coach somewhere else, soon.