QB Colt McCoy remains optimistic despite Cardinals’ changes

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Colt McCoy said it “stinks” to have to go through a coaching change and that he was “real tight” with head coach Kliff Kingsbury, who was fired Monday.

McCoy is immune to such abrupt changes having witnessed his father’s high school coaching days, but he said it’s something you don’t want to go through as an older player.

“I think it’s definitely a change for everybody,” McCoy said on SiriusXM’s ESPNU radio’s Off Campus show on Wednesday. “I think as a player you just kind of have to trust Mr. Bidwill and the direction he wants this organization to go in, and I think a GM is equally as important as a head coach in kind of the landscape of the NFL these days. You kind of want to have some camaraderie, like it’s meshed, it’s jelled together and we’re on the same page.

“There’s going to be change. Who knows what decisions we make, whether we go in-house or somewhere outside? Players aren’t going to make that decision,” McCoy said. “One thing I do know just from me is that I love this place, I love the organization, I love the fans and I do think we have the pieces to really be a successful football team and find ourselves competing for the division and making a run in the playoffs, and I hope we collectively as an organization just figure it out. We’ll just let it play out the way it’s supposed to play out.”

“That just stinks whether you’re a 1st year player or whether you’re going into year 14 like me.”

Colt McCoy reacts to the news that Arizona has parted ways with head coach Kliff Kingsbury.@JacobHester18 | @RoddyJones20 | @SiriusXMNFL pic.twitter.com/84nT2bcxVQ

— College Sports on SiriusXM (@SXMCollege) January 11, 2023

McCoy has one year left on his contract after signing a two-year, $7.5 million deal with the Cardinals on March 14, 2022.

With the Cardinals pointing in the direction of a possible rebuild, the journeyman entering his 14th season and his age-37 season has himself asking questions about his future with the organization and his playing days.

With Kyler Murray tearing his ACL in Week 14 of the regular season against the New England Patriots and likely out to begin next season, McCoy could be the starter to open up next year if the Cardinals don’t sign another quarterback.

“As you get older in the game, you always sit down and think about and analyze things that went wrong last year, things that went right and ask yourself, ‘Do I want to go through this again?'” McCoy said. “Do I want to put in all the effort, the time and the energy? I know what it takes to get ready for a season.

“For me, that’s a good evaluation, that’s kind of what you do for the next month or so. You have a close eye on what happens in Arizona and hopefully, we get it all right. I love my teammates and the organization, and I’m sure we will.”