Josh McCown may wind up being an offensive guru. Josh McCown may very well be a Tremendous Bowl-winning head coach at some point. Over the previous few years, Josh McCown has been a highly-sought after candidate in NFL teaching circles. The one factor is, Josh McCown’s teaching resume is skimpier than the meat that new staff put in your burrito at Chipotle. If Steve Wilks is livid, we’d perceive.
Earlier this week, the Minnesota Vikings announced they have been hiring McCown as their new quarterbacks coach. He involves Minnesota after spending a few of final season with the Carolina Panthers in the identical position. I say “some,” as a result of McCown was a part of the teaching workers that bought fired in the course of the season. The Panthers and their offense sucked. Earlier than that, McCown helped out as an assistant coach at the highschool stage.
That final paragraph is all of his expertise as a “coach.” No school employment. No time was spent as a professional coordinator. No time as even a preps head coach. But, he’s employed once more. In keeping with ESPN’s Jordan Reid, McCown was the assistant coach at the highschool Drake Maye performed for. The intrigue is actual because the Vikings have the 11th pick in the draft, and may very well be trying to transfer up.
However regardless of that connection, McCown’s state of affairs is why Brian Flores’s lawsuit towards the league for its “alleged” racist hiring practices is headed to open court docket. And that is why Wilks joined that lawsuit.
Over the previous few years, Wilks has sadly joined Eric Bieniemy because the poster youngster of how unfairly Black coaches get handled within the NFL. Wilks was the pinnacle coach in Arizona in 2018. He was given a horrible crew. The Cardinals completed 3-13. Wilks was fired after just one yr on the job. In 2022, Wilks grew to become the interim coach of the Carolina Panthers after Matt Rhule was fired in the course of the season. The Panthers have been 1-5 underneath Rhule. They have been 6-6 underneath Wilks. It wasn’t ok. He wasn’t retained. This previous season he was the defensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers. However after Kyle Shanahan blew a double-digit lead for the third time in a Tremendous Bowl sport through which he was the pinnacle coach or offensive coordinator, he made Wilks the autumn man and fired him.
In case you go to Wilks’ Wikipedia web page, you will notice a minimal of 20 teaching jobs he’s had in his profession between school and the NFL. In case you do the identical for McCown, you’ll solely see the 2 I discussed above.
In 2022, it was believed the Houston Texans have been going to rent McCown as their new head coach with none teaching expertise in any respect within the NFL. After which, out of nowhere, Flores dropped his class-action lawsuit towards the league and the Texans magically landed on hiring Lovie Smith — a Black coach. Smith was fired after one season in the identical approach that David Culley — one other Black coach — was additionally fired earlier than him in Houston after one season. Houston did them like Arizona did Wilks.
The Vikings have a brand new quarterback coach with a paper-thin resume, who spent a lot of his lengthy taking part in profession as a backup as a result of he may by no means minimize it as a starter. Minnesota should additionally work out who McCown can be teaching, because it isn’t loopy to imagine that the crew can be trying up on the Lions and the Packers within the NFC North. And if issues don’t work out — once more — and Josh McCown will get fired, another crew is certain to rent him in a heartbeat. That’s not a guess, it’s what historical past has taught us.
