Cardinals Fire OC Mike McCoy, Promote QBs Coach Byron Leftwich

Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports that the Arizona Cardinals have made the decision to fire OC Mike McCoy following Thursday’s blowout loss to the Broncos.

• According to Albert Breer, the Cardinals will promote QBs coach Byron Leftwich as their new coordinator.
• Ian Rapoport reports that within the team, there was frustration about McCoy’s lack of creativity, inability to get RB David Johnson going, and questions about how much he was putting on rookie QB Josh Rosen’s plate.

The Cardinals have already confirmed the news.

It was clear that a move had to be made. The Cardinals’ offense ranked No. 32 in yards, No. 31 in points scored, No. 32 in rushing and No. 31 in passing this year.

McCoy, 46, began his NFL coaching career with the Panthers back in 2000 as their quarterbacks coach. He spent nine years in Carolina before departing to take the Broncos’ offensive coordinator position in 2009.

After four years of running the Broncos’ offense, the Chargers hired him as their head coach before firing him after the 2016 season. The Broncos hired him as their offensive coordinator soon after but he was fired after one season.

The Cardinals gave him another shot at being their offensive coordinator under Steve Wilks, but he lasted just seven games.

During his four years in San Diego, McCoy led the Chargers to a record of 27-36 (42.9 percent), which includes one playoff appearance and a playoff win.