Things change in football, just like they do in life. Nothing lasts forever, Father Time is undefeated, and as a result of it all there are often times where there is an adjustment or two that throws us for a loop.
Generally, the biggest changes in football have to do with players or coaches leaving one squad for another. It always looks weird when someone who spent a significant amount of time in one place puts on a different jersey or polo, in that way it will feel weird to watch Jason Garrett coach for the New York Giants as an example.
Perhaps a stronger difference to point to in 2020 is the fact that Tom Brady will be the quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as opposed to the New England Patriots. The Dallas Cowboys landed somebody in free agency this year that knows a thing or two about the Bucs life, Gerald McCoy, and he certainly seems to understand how radical change in the National Football League is weird, but it doesn’t change everything.
Gerald McCoy is going to be rooting for the Buccaneers this season
The 2020 campaign will not mark the first season that Gerald McCoy won’t be affiliated with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as he spent last season with the Carolina Panthers, just like fellow new Cowboys DT Dontari Poe, but old habits die hard. He spent a long time in Tampa Bay.
McCoy went to the University of Oklahoma and grew up with a Cowboys connection so it must be very cool for him and his family to see him put a star on his helmet; however, that doesn’t mean that he no longer cares what happens to the Buccaneers. Gerald appeared on Tuesday’s edition of The Herd and talked about how he is absolutely rooting for the Bucs... to a certain extent.
“For me, I’m a lifelong Bucs fan. Okay. And until we have to play them, I’m always going to root for the Bucs. I’m just telling you that. I hope they go undefeated and then they lose to us in the playoffs. I’m gonna just be honest. I’m a lifelong Bucs fan. One of my best friends is Lavonte David. I believe he deserves all of the tv time he’s going to get. I believe he’s very, very underrated. I’m excited for all of my former teammates. I just want all of them to get all of the publicity they deserve. I believe that Tom Brady can be what they need and I hope they win, man. I really do. I hope everything that happens except the Super Bowl… cause that’s for us.”
Honestly it is pretty refreshing and cool to see an NFL player say something like this. It goes without saying that Gerald McCoy wants above all else to see the team he’s on, which just so happens to be the Cowboys, have success above everyone else, but to act like he isn’t emotionally tied to the Buccaneers would be disingenuous. Good for him for saying that out loud.
McCoy made a very interesting point in his comment about how he is happy for his old teammates and the television attention that they are going to be receiving soon. Obviously with Tom Brady as their starting quarterback, the Bucs have catapulted to the top of the NFL’s most-discussed teams and as a result the players on that team are going to get covered more heavily than they did before Tampa Bay turned into Tompa Bay.
Speaking of television, Gerald McCoy might have his eyes on life after football. He also talked Tuesday about the benefits of being a member of the Cowboys and specifically cited the jobs in television that the team’s former players have gotten in recent memory.
Gerald McCoy: Who was one of the top, if not the top, analyst on FOX?
Colin Cowherd: Troy Aikman.
Gerald McCoy: Okay. who took over for Jon Gruden after he left Monday Night Football?
Colin Cowherd: Jason Witten. Cowboy.
Gerald McCoy: Okay. Who is going to be the highest-paid analyst next year?
Colin Cowherd: Tony Romo.
Gerald McCoy: Okay. I’ll leave it there. So if you don’t think that being a Cowboy has its advantages and its benefits, yea, it does.
There is no denying that being associated with the Dallas Cowboys can set someone up well for life after professional football. Gerald McCoy has a great personality so it is highly possible that one day he is in front of a television camera commenting on what is happening in the NFL.
Hopefully he’s doing so with a Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl ring on his hand, though.