Josh McCown played for nine different teams during his NFL career and ended things in 2020 with the Houston Texans. Just a few years removed from retirement, the 43-year-old could climb to the top of the coaching ranks far faster than normal.
While McCown never played for the Texans in 2020, he served as an important veteran presence in the locker room and a mentor for Deshaun Watson. Houston fell in love with the quarterback’s intelligence and leadership, sharing a belief held by many in the NFL that he could one day become a head coach.
- Josh McCown career stats: 17,731 passing yards, 98 passing touchdowns, 79.7 quarterback rating, 23-53 record
Shortly after he ended his playing career, the Texans interviewed McCown for their head-coaching vacancy. He strengthened his reputation within the organization, especially with wowner Cal McNair and executive Jack Easterby.
Ultimately, the Texans hired David Culley and then immediately offered the associate head coach position to McCown. He turned down the job to coach his son at Rusk High School.
Houston fired Culley after the 2021 season, launching a coaching search for the second consecutive offseason. Once again, McCown emerged as a leading candidate. He eventually became a finalist and seemed like the favorite to replace Culley.
However, things seemed to change after the Brian Flores lawsuit. The former Miami Dolphins coach alleged racial discrimination in the hiring practices by NFL teams. Staring down the possibility of hiring McCown, who lacked any professional coaching experience, the Texans promoted defensive coordinator Lovie Smith to head coach.
While McCown didn’t become the head coach in Houston, he reportedly received inquiries from multiple teams. According to Dan Pompei of The Athletic, the Philadelphia Eagles, Indianapolis Colts and Minnesota Vikings all tried to entice McCown to join their coaching staffs.
Josh McCown’s future in NFL
It likely won’t be long before McCown makes the leap from coaching high school football to working on an NFL sideline. As Pompei writers, there is a chance that McCown becomes an NFL head coach in 2023.
Hiring McCown will invite criticism. Just a few years removed from playing, he would be making an unprecedented leap from player to head coach. The success rate for head coaches is low, even those with years of experience as a positional coach and then a coordinator.
If McCown is hired in 2023, he will be skipping over countless assistant coaches and coordinators who have spent years working their way up the ranks. The struggles of Denver Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett also highlight the difficulties respected minds have in their first year, dealing with the media and handling in-game management along with other responsibilities.
All of this would be new to McCown and he likely wouldn’t be taking over a team that is built to compete right away. It would also raise questions about why he was hired immediately while the likes of Eric Bieniemy, Byron Leftwich and Jim Caldwell seemingly lack the qualifications in the eyes of decision-makers.
Ultimately, no one should be surprised if the rebuilding Texans finish with a top-10 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, fire Smith and name McCown their head coach this offseason.