Todd Bowles And Gerald McCoy
April 1st, 2022
Bucs coach Todd Bowles.
Watching the passing-the-torch festivities at One Buc Palace from Super Bowl-winning coach Bucco Bruce Arians to new head coach Todd Bowles yesterday, Joe wondered how much of a factor Bowles played in the Bucs waving goodbye to franchise icon Gerald McCoy?
GMC, Joe believes, will one day be in the Ring of Honor, right up there with Arians and so many Bucs greats.
So let’s revisit the 2019 offseason briefly, shall we, when the Bucs cut GMC in what may have been a transformative move for the franchise.
It was Arians’ first season and a season removed from retiring (the first time) with the Cardinals. When Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht reached out to Arians, the old coach found virtually all of his preferred assistants were looking for work, including Bowles, who was just fired from the Jets.
Arians often has cited those circumstances as the key factor in returning to the sidelines.
Now Arians didn’t often mess with the defense. He left that up to Bowles in Arizona and Tampa. And in 2019, GMC was a pending free agent. At the combine that winter, Licht was curiously non-committal about re-signing GMC. When he refused to give a player like GMC an endorsement, a blind man could see something was up.
GMC was never offered a contract extension and has since spent three injury-plagued seasons with the Stinking Panthers, Cowboys and Raiders. He also served a six-game substance suspension last season. Joe would not be shocked if GMC announces his retirement before the 2022 regular season kicks off. There is little market for a thirtysomething defensive tackle who cannot stay on the field. So in retrospect, the Bucs cut loose GMC at just the right time.
With the Jets, Bowles always had rough and tumble defensive tackles and linemen. The Bucs replaced GMC with perhaps the ultimate rough and tumble defensive tackle to ever play the game, Ndamukong Suh. In a matter of weeks, the Bucs went from a totally cuddly soft defense into one of the NFL’s best against the run.
We may never know the answer to the following, but how much of a factor was Bowles in the decision to not bring back GMC? Joe likes GMC and this is not a swipe at him but with Suh, the Bucs transformed into one of the most physical defenses in the league.
In the two seasons after GMC left, a Super Bowl championship defense emerged that throttled Drew Brees, drama queen Aaron Rodgers and Pat Mahomes in succession to win it all.
So in retrospect, Bowles’ first major stamp on the Bucs’ franchise could have come as a brand new defensive coordinator. The call to move on from GMC may have been transformative for the franchise.
April 1st, 2022 at 12:19 am
Same guy described as soft & cuddly will also be in/on the Ring of Honor?! That’s the dichotomy of McCoy. Made 100 million plus at One Buc Place while making very few signature plays. Got a good jump on/off the snap I suppose.
April 1st, 2022 at 12:24 am
As much as anything, I think it was about a style of play. McCoy was an upfield penetrator, but in the 3-4 the DL has to be able to hold ground to stop the run. It’s not clear that McCoy would have been effective in that role, or happy for that matter. It was weird to see Suh come in and replace McCoy, even taking his uniform #93, but it was obviously the right call.
April 1st, 2022 at 12:33 am
It might have been a franchise turnaround but also common knowledge. Everyone wanted him gone, and it worked.
April 1st, 2022 at 12:33 am
He should be in the ring of honor now that I think about it but eventually no time soon though. Dude just didn’t understand run stopping at all and more often than not running backs hit the holes he left for them because all he wanted to do was rush the passer. When Greg Schiano made it a priority to stop the run they did so he can do it but just wanted to do his own thing scheme be damned
Yes I am sure if Bowles is as smart as everyone says he is he looked at the tape and said nope not at that price. I think him and suh together would have been really fun though
April 1st, 2022 at 12:57 am
Gerald in ring of honor I hope not let him go ring of honor for the panthers since that was his home
April 1st, 2022 at 1:00 am
McCoy could have remained a Buc but refused to come off his $13 million salary and take a pay cut that was more in line with his production. He had already made $100 million from the Bucs but his ego couldn’t handle taking the pay cut so he goes to a division rival and takes a pay cut! This guy doesn’t deserve to be in the ROH, Very Overrated, and Very Overpaid….Thank you Todd Bowles
April 1st, 2022 at 1:05 am
Also a reason we don’t have Aaron Donald. Imagine having Donald now.
April 1st, 2022 at 1:18 am
Gerald ” I’m batman..I’m so so so sorry I tackled you! Can I give you a hug and a snuggle.” If Gerald had Suhs mentality he would probably be a hall of famer.
April 1st, 2022 at 1:18 am
It’s true. We could have drafted Donald, but McCoy was outspoken that he would be a little upset if they did.
April 1st, 2022 at 1:27 am
Gerald was usually a damn good player for us, but was he an icon worthy of the ring of honor? Brooks, Sapp, Lynch, Barber, Rice, and Alstott were no-brainer icons/ring of honor dudes for us, but Gerald ain’t in the same league. Hell, I’d easily put Suh in the roh before McCoy.
April 1st, 2022 at 1:58 am
I believe what also contributed to the new regime not bringing GMC back is due to the infamous “my bad Ben” during a Monday night game. GMC demonstrated how soft n passive he plays. I was hoping we could’ve been in position to select Suh in the 2010 draft but the lions selected him one pick ahead of us.
April 1st, 2022 at 4:18 am
Duh….absolutely changed the culture! The ice cream man was a classic “do enough to get paid” player. No example for young players coming in. The face of losing, McCoy.
April 1st, 2022 at 6:27 am
Bowles always wanted Suh “THE REAL 93” in his defense. Ice Scream man hitting free agency when Bowles got here was the icing in the cake.
Ask Sapp, “which of the two should be in the Ring of Honor?”
LFG!!!
April 1st, 2022 at 6:34 am
Mccoy is and always will be a guy who I view as my most hated bucs player . I could not stand his smiles after a loss , his awe shucks let me help you up Mr. QB and his quick step to nowhere. Good riddance to him and his face of the decade of depression ! Hell no this guy shouldn’t be in the ring of honor , I remember 1 frigging game winning play from this clown in his entire bucs career ! Just one meaningless game . Maybe one day no one will ever bring him up again and that’s where his name belongs , vanished from bucs fans memories just like his play .
April 1st, 2022 at 6:45 am
With all the great Bucs, I can close my eyes and see one or more great plays from them. Simeon with a strip sack. Sapp crushing Favre. Barber with a pick six. Lynch with a huge hit. Even remember Selmon smothering a QB. McCoy? McCoy? Where’s McCoy? Oh yeah, he’s a disrupter, not a playmaker…….
April 1st, 2022 at 7:10 am
Remember when TMax bashed GMC daily and no one understood the hate.
April 1st, 2022 at 7:44 am
McCoy was Arians and Suh was the choice due to being a polar opposite !! It’s football in the trenches not babbling like Kamala and ice cream trucks !!Matter ah fact Suh for Vice President 👍
April 1st, 2022 at 7:48 am
GMC better not sniff the RoH, unless Davin Joseph has his name up there. DJ was dominant at his position, while GMC was underwhelming
April 1st, 2022 at 7:55 am
bingo willieg…disrupter lol
April 1st, 2022 at 8:19 am
GMC was THE FACE of the LOST DECADE
great person, not a great impact player
April 1st, 2022 at 8:51 am
Well said Ghost… great person good player not ring of honor material imo. Good player on a crappy team.
Joe’s annual soap box to get GMC in the ring. Probably just to generate discussion because how split the Bucs community is.
GMC has made as many impact plays since he has been gone, as he did when he actually played here. I watched him make good plays but never in crunch time. In my memory he never got a key stop or sack to end a 4th quarter comeback or a pivotal turnover. He was just steady in the line up after his first 2 years. I’ve seen Suh, Vea, Rice even Culpeper make game saving plays in the 4th.
April 1st, 2022 at 9:19 am
Best get off in football. No one could run themselves out of the play faster than McCoy. He was soft and had fun losing. Nothing honorable about his play or leadership.
April 1st, 2022 at 9:25 am
Gerald McCoy in the Ring of Honor LMMFAO!
April 1st, 2022 at 9:39 am
I was so afraid you were going to suggest bringing him back. I love him in our community. Just not on our football team
April 1st, 2022 at 10:08 am
GMC was and is so overrated as a football player — it was long overdue good riddance and no surprise at all when his Barney the Dinosaur act left, the defense got a lot better.
Great neighbor, babysitter for your kids, would be fun to have a sandwich with.
He better not be in the ring of honor unless the Glazers relished losing all the years he was with the team.
April 1st, 2022 at 10:11 am
Had Gerald accepted the coaches asking him to work in a rotation-type role he would’ve remained with us longer but he wouldn’t accept that with a salary cut so Licht had no choice but to release him. I’m sure Bowles and his coaches all agreed.
April 1st, 2022 at 10:17 am
Ring of honor? HAHAHA. Thanks for the laugh Joe. GMC was a charlatan
April 1st, 2022 at 10:26 am
I THINK IT WAS LICHT
The Bucs cut McCoy almost immediately after Arians was hired. I believe Licht had gotten fed up with GMC, OR Arians expressed a dire need to change the culture and GMC was the leader of the defense.
GMC does not deserve to be in the ring of honor. That’s for winners. GMC was a talented loser.
April 1st, 2022 at 10:59 am
McCoy will not get into the RoH. No chance.But that’s not all on him. In his prime, he was extremely good. The problem was that the Bucs failed to put other good players next to him. He was the ONLY defensive lineman that was good. Compare that to the past couple years…well, it’s easy to be a difference maker when the people around you are so talented. McCoys best years were wasted, and he had no clue what winning felt like. Suh does. Get him back!
April 1st, 2022 at 2:16 pm
Get him back?! To where? Baskin Robbins? He was hurt in pre season drills the last 2 seasons and added a performance enhancement suspension on for good measure. He’s beyond done.
April 1st, 2022 at 4:49 pm
Mike Washington, Randy Grimes and Mark Cotney deserve it more than McCoy
April 1st, 2022 at 9:13 pm
GMC in the Ring of Honor? Put the Bromosa’s down Joe.
April 2nd, 2022 at 8:29 am
No way GMC in the Ring of Honor. What did he ever accomplish other than pile up stats early in games just to disappear in crunch time. The transformation into a Bucs Defense – defenses that win championships – happened once we got rid of GMC.
April 2nd, 2022 at 12:55 pm
LOL
My only lasting image of McBatman is of him doing the do-si-do on the sideline with Kwon while the team was busy getting their arse is kicked.
April 2nd, 2022 at 7:22 pm
I shouldn’t even invoke the Batman name when referring to GMC. It might be conflated with the image of Richard Wood, who is another former Buc who has an argument as a more impactful vet than McIcecream.