NASHVILLE – Titans interim coach Mike McCoy addressed reporters in a Zoom press conference Monday, a day after the team’s 34-26 loss to the New Orleans Saints.
The Titans will conclude their season this Sunday with a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Here are key takeaways from McCoy’s press conference:
-McCoy did not provide updates on player injuries. Receiver Van Jefferson (forearm) and cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis (Achilles) were injured during Sunday’s game and did not return.
-The game against the Jaguars is scheduled for noon CST/1 p.m. EST on Sunday.
The Jaguars have the opportunity to win the AFC South division with a victory.
The Jacksonville game represents something of a homecoming for McCoy, who previously coached for the Jaguars.
“It’s a great opportunity to go back to a place where I spent three years and play a really good football team,” McCoy said. “There are a lot of great memories there, and it’s another one of those opportunities like we had in ’22 and ’23. If we go in there and beat them, and all of a sudden somebody else—Houston—ends up winning, they win the division. Things like that. It’s an opportunity to go out there and do something like that against a division opponent.”
-Quarterback Cam Ward completed 21 of 40 passes for 251 yards and two touchdowns against the Saints.
McCoy emphasized that Ward’s experience gained from playing every snap this season will be invaluable for his development.
“I think the entire season is really going to help him going forward,” McCoy said. “That’s one thing — the experience of playing different schemes and improving as the year went on. He’s really going to benefit from it. I know from talking to him week after week—the library, the notes you build from playing against certain teams, whether it’s coordinators, certain players, or specific matchups with your receivers and how defenses play certain guys. You gain that experience over a 17-game season, and it’s only going to make things easier for him moving forward. I think he’s done a great job week after week of learning and understanding what we’re trying to accomplish. He’s got a really bright future.”
-McCoy highlighted Ward’s creativity and ability to extend plays with his pocket movement.
He noted that Ward displayed a “wow factor” during Sunday’s game, and continued to impress during Monday’s discussion.
“Some of those plays where I’m on the sideline and thinking throw the ball away or do something different and he keeps going, moving around out there, buying time, buying time on the side line to the very last second, making those throws. That’s what the great players do,” McCoy said. “And you’ve seen that a number of times this year. And more recently with the plays that he’s making. And that’s what energizes our fans, energizes our team, it’s great. You see players, once they know that he is out of the pocket now, you see us doing a better job of scrambling. You always talk about what are our scramble rules, you have scramble drills you do during the offseason program and training camp to kind of talk about things. But the game is completely different, because everyone is always in different spots, and it’s not scripted a certain way. You just see guys reacting, and you see Cam moving his finger point in one direction or the other. And so it’s just great to see the guys making the plays.”
-As the season nears its end, McCoy expressed his enjoyment of serving as interim coach.
“I’ve had the time of my life,” he said. “I love doing what I do. I’m very grateful for the opportunity that Amy (Adams Strunk), Mike (Borgonzi), and Chad (Brinker) gave me going back to the New England week to lead their organization. I love leading. It’s an honor and privilege to do what I’ve been doing since then.”