Arizona Cardinals: Why Offensive Coordinator Mike McCoy Was Fired

The Arizona Cardinals decided to part ways with Offensive Coordinator Mike McCoy Friday in a move most of the Valley had been expecting after the embarrassing 45-10 loss Thursday night to the Denver Broncos.

It did not come as a surprise to many around the league when the Arizona Cardinals announced Friday that they had fired Offensive Coordinator Mike McCoy and promoted Quarterbacks Coach Byron Leftwich to run the offense. The Cardinals rank dead last in the NFL in points per game at 11.1 but that doesn’t necessarily tell the whole story.

Through seven weeks the Cardinals offense has looked like a disjointed mess. From David Johnson no longer becoming a threat as a pass catcher to Larry Fitzgerald not recording a touchdown until Thursday’s loss, it has been clear for some time now changes needed to be made.

One particular play that helps tell the story just so happened to be the second play of the game. The Cardinals had to burn a timeout due to confusion from the wide receivers before the snap. Now burning timeouts due to confusion is not an anomaly in the NFL, yet doing so on the second play of the game in the seventh week of a season is inexcusable. Especially when you consider how this offense has performed thus far.

The questionable play calls have been a mainstay of this offense since Week 1. Thursday night was no different as McCoy seemed to always do the opposite of what conventional thinking would suggest. We saw it back against the Seahawks in Week 4 when on third-and-six of the final drive he called a run for no gain despite Josh Rosen making some great passes earlier in the quarter. As we all remember Phil Dawson would than miss a go-ahead field goal and the Cardinals would go on to lose 20-17. These same issues didn’t go away against the Broncos.

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Ultimately when you have an offense that doesn’t pass the eye test, and on paper is last in the NFL in points, third down efficiency, and first downs. the responsibility falls on the head coach and offensive coordinator. Being that Steve Wilks is known for being a defensive-minded coach who is relatively hands-off when it comes to offensive play calling, it’s obvious that McCoy had to go.

Hopefully, Byron Leftwich can come in and, at the very least, make the offense competitive. Otherwise, fans in Arizona will be marking their calendars for April, 15th 2019 for what might be the first pick in the NFL Draft — not necessarily a bad thing, I suppose.