Getty Josh McCown congratulates Russell Wilson last year after their wild-card playoff game in Philadelphia.
It could be argued that no single player earned so much respect in so short a time frame as Josh McCown. The 41-year-old journeyman spent just five months in Philadelphia — McCown was first lured out of retirement on Aug. 17, 2019 — before he was reportedly discussing a coaching gig with the Eagles.
Now he’s departed for Houston but it wasn’t an easy decision. McCown, who has suited up for 12 different NFL teams, was signed to the Eagles’ practice squad this summer in a special role — quarantine quarterback, an emergency option, living in Texas and contained to virtual meetings, should a COVID-19 outbreak occur. It never did. And McCown revealed that he missed being in the building with the guys. When the Texans called with an enticing offer, it was one he couldn’t refuse.
“It was hard to talk to Philly and say, ‘Hey, I’m going to go do this with the Texans.'”, McCown told reporters, via Pro Football Talk. “But, at the end of the day I knew my heart wanted to be in a building with the guys and just doing that from a distance — while it was good, it’s not the same. So, that was the biggest thing.”
Josh McCown said when he hangs up his cleats, he envisions coaching in his future. Coming out of Sam Houston State, he dreamed of becoming a high school coach. McCown has a bright coaching future whenever he retires
The native Texan also got a little job security as the Texans handed him a two-year deal worth $2.125 million, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. McCown is being groomed to be an assistant coach there while serving as a mentor to Deshaun Watson.
Follow the Heavy on Eagles Facebook page for the latest breaking news, rumors and content!
McCown Sells Charlotte Home for $3.7 Million
It’s no secret that McCown had been living in Charlotte last year while playing for the Eagles. Part of the deal included everyone being on board with him flying home every Friday night to coach his son’s high school team in North Carolina.
He would fly back to Philly after the game and attend the Eagles’ walk-through on Saturday. Why go through all that? For the human experience, McCown told ESPN.
“My human experience has been involved with the game of football, right, through high school, college and this pro career that has taken me all over, everywhere,” McCown told Tim McManus. “I just look at that and go, ‘How can I leverage my experience to maybe make somebody else’s journey better or share something with them that can encourage them?’ That’s why high school football is important to me.”
His sons, Owen and Aiden, recently transferred to Rusk High School in Texas and so the family moved. It’s about a 2.5-hour drive from Rusk to Houston where McCown will play football in 2020. So McCown put his 7,420-square-foot home in Charlotte’s Carmel Park neighborhood on the market. It fetched $3.75 million, per WSOC-TV, and features six bedrooms, six full bathrooms and three half-bathrooms.
Coaching Future Remains End Goal
While McCown turned down overtures from the Eagles to join Doug Pederson’s staff — those discussions, per McCown, came down to the quarterback not wanting to leave his family — he seems destined for a coaching career sometime soon. It’s widely believed he’ll simply join the Texans’ staff, hence the two-year contract. He wants to learn as much as he can and then see what happens.
“Yeah, absolutely,” McCown said of coaching in the NFL. “When that day comes, I could definitely see myself doing that and hopefully just be able to get in and serve a team and help them. Help them in the pursuit of getting better daily and obviously chasing a championship. Yeah, one of these days whenever that happens, whenever I finally take the cleats off, I definitely see that in the future.”
READ NEXT: Travis Fulgham Makes Impact vs. 49ers