This is the NFL. And Mike McCoy doesn’t have “it.”

The Patriots on Sunday went to Arizona without the best quarterback of his generation, a Hall of Fame-caliber tight end, their two starting offensive tackles, and beat one of the best teams. The Chargers went to Kansas City, built a large lead, lost a receiver the Chiefs couldn’t cover with a drone, chickened out on the free-range Arrowhead straw, and laid an egg that their coach sat on like a mother hen.

There’s a difference here. New England is coached by Bill Belichick, an imperfect anatomist who still knows where the jugular is; the Chargers by McCoy, who couldn’t find the vein with a CT scan.

What happened in Arizona was a coaching win. What happened in Kansas City was a coaching loss.


Let’s make it a tale of three cities.

In New Orleans, the Raiders moved to within a point of the Saints with under a minute to play. What did Oakland coach Jack Del Rio do? He went for two. Made it. Won the game.

What did he say afterward? “I was thinking that we’re here to win; let’s win it right now.”

It’s called daring to be great. It’s not laying up. Belichick and Del Rio get out the 3-wood and go for the green. McCoy pulls his wedge.


McCoy said Monday, “It wasn’t a lack of killer instinct.”

It was. And has been.

He accepted blame. He should. Not good enough.

He did say, “We’ve got to do a better job coaching.”


We’ve heard the obvious before.

Granted, players have to play, as they still had to after the Chargers built a 24-3 lead on K.C. (the edge was 17 points more than 5 minutes into the fourth quarter) and had silenced one of loudest venues in sports (basically emptied it). But they still are required to follow instructions.

And the instructions suddenly stunk. McCoy went Schottenheimer-conservative (except, despite it all, Marty probably still would have won) when the Chiefs were lemons hanging so low a gopher could have picked them.

The Chargers’ offensive line blocked well early for tailbacks Melvin Gordon and Danny Woodhead, and quarterback Philip Rivers was on it, with time to throw and Keenan Allen continuously open. But Allen went down, and the tires went flat.


McCoy insists there was nothing wrong with Gordon, who rarely was used after halftime, and from then on Rivers mysteriously lined up almost exclusively from the shotgun. Why did the Chargers move up to draft Gordon? For him to sit? They had 16 first downs by break, 20 shortly thereafter, and finished with 25.

The Chiefs do not have the offensive personnel — even with tailback Jamal Charles — to come back from 21 points down on anybody. How did they do it without their best offensive player while the Chargers swooned without their greatest weapon?

Coaching. McCoy coached these guys into a loss.

Much blame has been placed on offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt. The same guy who called plays when the Chargers were up 21 also called them when they fell apart. But McCoy is an offensive coach. He was aware of every call. He allowed the clock to expire at the end of regulation. He was in charge. He approved the route that led to a cul-de-sac.


The Bolts brought in speedy receiver Travis Benjamin not only to return punts, but to stretch the field. They never did in K.C. Was this all Whisenhunt, or was it the plan? You have to at least show that deep threat, even with Allen.

Defensive coordinator John Pagano blitzed often and got after it early on. Alex Smith was sacked three times. And then, as things were crumbling, Smith was given a hall pass to do as he pleased. Pagano rushed four, giving up far too much easy stuff, with backup tailback Spencer Ware cavorting as though he were Gale Sayers.

But McCoy obviously never ordered a change.

It’s called reacting on the fly, and these guys didn’t do it.


This disaster didn’t happen in five seconds. It took an entire half, into overtime. There were many opportunities to make adjustments, but adjustments never came, not even too late.

Did the Chargers miss Allen? Of course. With him, they’re one of the best yards-per-play offenses in The League. Without him, they’re near the bottom.

But they blew this because the coaches lost their way, leaving behind the map that got them there.

It was coaching.


This was not the worst loss in Chargers history. But it was as completely uncalled for as any. And it was a divisional defeat. Every other AFC West team won — the Broncos with a backup-at-best quarterback, the Raiders with guts and the Chiefs by waiting around for the Chargers to screw it up.

I have no idea the length of the leash McCoy is on, but it probably can be measured in centimeters. He has lost 16 of his last 21 games. Monday, after saying he’s not the least bit concerned about a loss on the road, he added: “We’ve got a good team. You see how we played for three quarters.”

A ridiculous statement. And Germany played Russia well for a half.

Most players are disciples. Will they continue to follow their leader after this, as Churchill would say, unmitigated defeat?


The engine broke down Sunday. We can’t find Mr. Goodwrench credentials proving McCoy has the ultimate set of tools to get under the hood and fix it.

sezme.godfather@gmail.com

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