The NFL is a topsy-turvy place where something that could be true one day is a complete and utter fabrication the next.
It seemed like a former New York Jets starting quarterback was on the edge of making history as an NFL head coach. Now surprisingly he appears to be out of the running according to the latest NFL scoop.
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From Favorite to a Big Sack of Nothingness
At one point during this NFL head coaching cycle, it seemed like Josh McCown was destined to land the head coaching gig with the Houston Texans.
According to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle, McCown was considered “the favorite” to be the next head coach of the Texans on January 28.
Now just a week later he appears out of the running.
Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network tweeted that veteran Lovie Smith has come out of the woodwork as a candidate and that McCown is “seemingly out” of the picture.
Adam Schefter of ESPN shared a similar sentiment tweeting out that the Texans “still believe” that McCown will one day be a “great head coach, but it just doesn’t look like today.”
What the Heck Happened?
How do you go from the leading favorite to all of a sudden out of the running?
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk put on his informed speculation hat to dive in on this saying:
“The Texans can’t hire McCown, especially after the filing of the Flores lawsuit. (Well, technically they can. But they shouldn’t.) The Texans apparently don’t want to hire Flores, who has sued the league and three teams. Also, his lawsuit specifically points out the manner in which the team mistreated former coach David Culley.”
The Houston situation was hardly ideal last year with the Deshaun Watson saga and a roster barren of talent. They hired David Culley and to most casual observers he did as good of a job as you could’ve possibly expected considering the circumstances, yet he was still fired after only one season on the job.
Now the thought of potentially hiring a head coach with zero coaching experience at any level could be an incredibly bad look.
McCown is widely respected around the league as an intelligent football mind, a high character guy, and someone that is certainly a leader of men.
The 42-year-old has done some high school coaching with his kids, but if he wants to be viewed as a serious candidate to the NFL world, McCown needs some experience.
For example, another ex-Jets quarterback is expected to land an NFL head coaching gig this cycle in Kevin O’Connell with the Minnesota Vikings He didn’t spend nearly as long in the league as McCown did, but after his playing career, he paid his dues working up the coaching ladder.
O’Connell spent five years coaching quarterbacks, serving as a passing coordinator, and most recently as an offensive coordinator.
McCown wouldn’t even necessarily have to coach that long, but any level of coaching at the college or NFL level would add some legitimacy to his resume.
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Ex-Jets QB Spurned for Head Coach Job Days After Being Named ‘Favorite’