Gerald McCoy is a key cog in the Tampa Bay Bucs' defensive scheme and a team captain. He's not Ndamukong Suh or Gerald McCoy, but he's a Pro Bowl defensive tackle. However, coaches have a bone to pick with him. After the whistle, he's a bit too civilized. If he can't be as physically imposing on every down as Suh, apparently Bucs coaches would like him to mimic Suh's post-play aggression. McCoy shared an instance of the coaching staff's mindset during an interview with 620 WDAE-AM in Tampa.
Via Yahoo Sports:
“I had my D-line coaches get on to me the other day,” McCoy said (c/o JoeBucsFan.com). “Well, not get on to me, try to get on to me. There’s no way they’re going to get on to me for this. They got upset with my because I helped somebody up [in the game.] So what! I don’t care. Kiss my butt. Listen, if I want to help somebody, I’m going help somebody up. Because right on the next play I’m going to knock him down again. It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter.
“That doesn’t change how hard I play. As long as in between the whistles. I’m not helping anybody up, it doesn’t matter. So what if I help them off the ground? ‘Good job; we’re out here competing. But as soon as they snap the ball, I’m going to kill you again.’
“There’s nothing wrong with that. Everybody’s not like that. If you don’t want to be like that, keep it to yourself. I don’t care. I don’t go tell them, ‘Hey, you’re not doing this. You’re not doing that.’ I don’t care. Everybody does what they do. If I help somebody up, get over it. Get over it.”
Seriously, what's with this coaching staff? If you thought it was just their head coach that was at the root of their woes, it might be time to spread the blame. Schiano's Napoleon Complex seems to have permeated throughout the entire staff. They're so overly concerned with what's happening before and after the whistle that they don't seem to realize that their losing the battle between the whistles. The character of the Bucs coaching staff is clearly an extension of their head coach.
It's interesting that McCoy would share that story as well. Just last week, he was defending Schiano from fan vitriol and this week he's throwing the staff under the bus. Dissension is to be expected when you're allowing 31 points per game in three consecutive weeks.
