Mike McCoy Defines His Plan for Quarterback Cam Ward
Tennessee Titans interim coach Mike McCoy spoke to the media for the first time on Tuesday, outlining his strategy to help young quarterback Cam Ward. After six games, Ward is tied for second in the league in turnovers, with a total of eight.McCoy mentioned several quarterbacks he has worked with, including Philip Rivers, Peyton Manning, Jake Delhomme, and Trevor Lawrence. Before joining the Titans, McCoy was the quarterbacks coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars from 2022 to 2024. He commented that one of the tactics he employed with Lawrence, who was in his second season when they began working together in Jacksonville, was positive reinforcement. He plans to apply the same approach with Ward.That’s something we need to improve. We see what happened in the previous game, with some issues and the security of the ball in the protection pocket. Those are things we need to correct, and that’s our job as coaches.
Mike McCoy
McCoy indicated that the coaching staff met on Tuesday morning to begin planning for Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots. They focused on highlighting Ward’s strengths and how these integrate with the overall capabilities of the offense.It will be the same every week. ‘You’re improving.’ That’s what I used to tell Trevor and what I’ll tell Cam.
Mike McCoy
According to McCoy, the quarterbacks coach, Bo Hardegree, will continue to call the plays, but with more collaboration from tight ends coach Luke Stocker and running backs coach Randy Jordan. The defensive team will remain unchanged. McCoy plans to lean on the team leaders to set the tone, especially on defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons.That will be our main focus. How do we make Cam more efficient and more successful?
Mike McCoy
Simmons commented that the Titans had one of their worst practice weeks prior to the 20-10 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders last Sunday. When questioned about Simmons’ comments, McCoy revealed that Simmons took the initiative in last week’s practice and requested that it be restarted because he felt the lack of energy was not acceptable.Seeing what Jeff does every day, there’s a reason why he goes out and dominates every game. The way you see him at the end of games, on the bench with the offense when they’re coming out, no matter the score. That’s just one player I’m mentioning. There are a lot of guys, the veteran players we have here, they know what it means to play this game every day.
Mike McCoy
I love that. That’s the accountability factor. He wants to win with so much passion. He’s a great example to follow for any player on this football team and to say, ‘If we all play, if we all work as hard daily and go out and play the way he plays on Sundays, great things will happen to this organization’.
Mike McCoy
