Good article by Brad Biggs on McCoy.
It sounds like he and Emery would definitely be compatible. I also like the fact that he's absorbed stuff that Peyton Manning brought with him from the Colts. Manning has a better football mind than half the OCs in the NFL, so if you can't have him as your QB, having a coach who worked with him seems like the next best thing.
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Phil Emery said the next coach of the Bears needs to be adaptable to win with the personnel available and Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy has done that with disparate parts such as Peyton Manning and Tim Tebow.
A year after the Broncos reached the playoffs and upset the Steelers with Tebow at the helm, they cruised to the No. 1 seed in the AFC and a first-round bye. Emery will interview McCoy here on Sunday as he crisscrosses the country in search of the 14th coach in Bears history.
McCoy also is expected to interview with the Bills and Cardinals on Saturday and Eagles on Sunday in a busy two days. He was a finalist for the Dolphins job last year and some projected it was his before it went to Joe Philbin.
"Until you get that job, don't listen to anybody," McCoy said Thursday after Broncos practice. "Seriously. Everyone had me penciled in going to Miami last year and it was a done deal, 'Don't get on a flight, it's your job,' and this and that.
"It's a learning experience and every organization, every owner is different so they are looking for something different. You just have to be yourself. That is the No. 1 thing."
It will be a feeling out process for him as he learns about the teams.
"It's an open conversation," McCoy said. "It's not about just taking any job. That's not my goal. You have to make sure when you make the next step that it's the right one. I have plenty of questions to ask."
The Broncos finished fourth in the NFL in total offense (397.9 yards per game) and were second in scoring (30.1 points) as McCoy meshed quickly with Manning. It's really the third offense the Broncos have run in two seasons as the passing scheme for Kyle Orton was scrapped after five games in 2011 when Tebow was promoted. The Broncos were 20th in the league in rushing at the time the change was made and finished No. 1 with a franchise-record 2,632 yards on the ground.
Orton and wide receiver Brandon Lloyd, both former Bears, had career years in 2010 under McCoy. This year, McCoy has blended passing game concepts Manning brought from the Colts with running game material that is his own.
"It's really important to find the person who has the knowledge and feel to make things fit with the talent they have," Emery said Tuesday. "That's the mark of excellence that I'm looking for. Somebody who has adapted to the role or has the flexibility and the skill set to make the players that we have fit toward making a run for the championship."
McCoy, 40, has a brief history with Jay Cutler as Josh McDaniels hired him as offensive coordinator in 2009 before the quarterback was traded to the Bears. It's not believed the falling out Cutler had with McDaniels involved McCoy.
Manning, who pretty much worked with the same offensive coaches for nearly his entire run with the Colts, highly recommends McCoy.
"He is ready," Manning said. "He has paid his dues. Mike is a good leader."
Manning had an adjustment period and he gives credit to McCoy for what he calls the team's "hybrid" offense.
"I knew it was going to take some time with any coach because I had been in one system and really kind of had one coach for the majority of my career," Manning said. "He has been incredibly supportive and patient with me.
"We spent a lot of hours together, early mornings, late nights, trying to get our plan in place. There is no substitute for a work ethic and Mike certainly has that. The more time we spent together, there is certainly a bond there. He has been a really big resource for me."
The Bears are replacing coach Lovie Smith who was scheme-driven defensively. Emery says he is considering coaches from all backgrounds but so far more offensive names have surfaced and he's driven to improve Cutler and the offense.
Every coach talks about matching their plans with the strengths of their players and McCoy did it in 2011. After the Lions blew out the Broncos 45-10 in Week 5, coach John Fox ordered Tebow promoted and a read-option offense highlighted.
"That's our job to take advantage of your talent," McCoy said. "That is the No. 1 job I have here to make sure that we evaluate the guys properly during the offseason and training camp and find out what we do best as an offense. If someone goes down, someone comes up and we have to make adjustments as a coaching staff and as players?"
The Broncos had some material in their playbook for Tebow already, but it was a massive transformation in midseason. Tebow completed only 46.2 percent of his passes but the Broncos averaged more than 190 yards rushing per game with him starting.
"It's impressive because of how much work (McCoy) had to do," wide receiver Eric Decker said. "To be able to switch gears from more of a passing offense to a read-option type run offense … the biggest thing is he is very unselfish. He takes whatever coaches have to say, whatever players have to say. He's able to put his ego aside and make sure we have the best game plan."
Said left guard Zane Beadles: "He's a guy who really can mold something around the guys he has."
McCoy had a reputation of working well with players in Carolina too where he was a Panthers assistant for nine seasons from 2000 to 2008, slowly working his way up to passing game coordinator. When McCoy left for the Broncos in 2009, longtime Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme made the departure easier for him. McCoy's daughter Olivia, 9 at the time, was nervous about a big move and Delhomme had a conversation with her that made the exit smoother for the family, McCoy told the Charlotte Observer. It's a sign of how he forges relationships with his players.
"As a head coach, the biggest thing is facilitating roles and responsibilities and again it goes with the ego thing, he would be able to let his coordinators do their jobs but oversee it," Decker said. "For my three years with him, he's very organized. He has a plan. He's always structured. He's a motivator. He's also just a good guy.
"Very personable and you can have a conversation with him, you can talk about things other than football so you build that relationship, you build that trust and want to play hard for him."
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