The Ryen Russillo Podcast - Backup QB Stories Part 4: Josh McCown | Dual Threat With Ryen Russillo

Episode Date: April 19, 2019

In Part 4 of a four-part series, Russillo talks with NFL QB Josh McCown about leaving SMU his senior year to play for Sam Houston State, getting drafted by the Arizona Cardinals, learning from Jake Plummer, and stories from his time with Daunte Culpepper and JaMarcus Russell on the Raiders under Lane Kiffin. He also recounts battling for a spot with Chad Henne in Miami, backing up Jake Delhomme, playing in the UFL, playing in Chicago with Jay Cutler, his time in Cleveland, his highlight season with the Jets, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

we continue with our dual threat ringer series the backup qv stories part four with josh mccown i'm ryan russell your host before we get to josh i want to remind everybody that our support for today's show comes from collection by michael strahan yeah it does available exclusively at jc penny collection by michael strahan makes it easy to look good and feel your best no matter the occasion the collection includes suit separates sport coats dress shirts neckwear belts accessories basic denim luggage and shoes big and tall and boys sizes too collection by michael strahan is available exclusively at JCPenney. Visit a store near you or go to jcp.com.

Also, how about this warning? This is real, folks. If you're ever stopped at a railway crossing and the signals are flashing and you don't see the train or it looks like it's moving slow and you're thinking maybe you could get across the tracks before the train comes. Think about this. In 2018 alone, 270 people were killed at railroad crossings. 270. Stop. Trains can't. Josh McCown is a quarterback that played for Arizona, Chicago, Carolina, Cleveland, the Jets, Oakland, Tampa from 2002 and 2018. And we will get to that stop in 2010, where he and I both lived in Hartford. Part four of the

Backup QB Stories, Josh McCown. Let's start at the beginning. And I don't want to start all the way back to your monstrous basketball career in high school, because that's part of this and what a great athlete you are. But you're at SMU, you're putting up good numbers and then you end up at Sam Houston state. So I know you're as Texas as it gets Josh. And part of that is what makes me like you so much, but how the hell did that happen? Like what was going on when you want to take a level, take a step down where you're still thinking maybe I can be an NFL

quarterback. Yeah. Well, so my journey was just that in that time, I had changed coordinators every season in college, offensive coordinators. And the original intent when I got to school was to redshirt, and they didn't do that. And I played four or five games, and then they put the other guy back, you know. And so every year, this kind of pattern where I would play a five games, and then they put the other guy back. You know, and so every year this kind of pattern where I would play a little bit, and then they would bench me, and I'd come back. They realized that was a bad decision. They would put me back in.

And I was doing this with the new coordinator every year because I guess he was figuring out, like, you know what? This is the best guy I have. You know, so I was kind of in between. Boy, it sounds familiar, huh? They were setting you up for a common theme. No doubt. Exactly.

I mean, this is, there was a ton of foreshadowing happening. And, and I wish I would have, you know, probably been, you know, present enough to see it. But I, I got to my three years there and, and I was like, you know what? I'm, I'm done kind of doing the merry-go-round thing. One of our best friends from high school was at Sam Houston. He was playing on that team. They had a really good team. They had 21 or 22 starters coming back.

They were missing a quarterback. They were a really good team. And so in my mind, I was like, you know what? I'm going to go down there and play ball. It's my last season of playing college football. I'm going to go and play and just have fun doing it. I had had some interest just because of the measurables. I had had some, I'll never forget Lonzo Highsmith,

who's with the Cleveland Browns now. I'll never forget him telling me, I believe he was with the Packers at the time as a scout, you know, like, you got some things, you know, like you got a chance to play in the NFL. Now, my older brother, Randy, was at Texas A&M at the time, and had kind of gone through those things already, and it didn't quite materialize for him. And so I'm like, yeah, you know, my family, we've heard this before, so I'm not really worried about staying at SMU or whatever.

I'm just going to go to Sam and have fun. And that's really what led to me going to Sam Houston State was just to go there and have fun and enjoy playing ball. And we did that. We had one of the best seasons in school history and made a lot of good friends and had a ton of fun. And it obviously led to being able to get drafted. So it was a win for everybody.

Shout out to Randy, by the way. We know he's been a big supporter of everything that I've been doing over the years. So we got some new t-shirts for him. So you go in and I can't wait to talk to you about some of these quarterback rooms.

But you get drafted. You go in the third round. You crush it at the combine. So you're finally filling out your big kid 6'4", 220-ish. You run 40 everybody's like okay you know there's and I was going back reading some of the draft stuff it's like he could be the third quarterback he'd be the eighth quarterback I think he ended up being the fourth quarterback and in that first year I think it was a good spot for you because you're like okay maybe I feel late to this whole thing I'm not going to

start they have Jake Plummer in place but for those that don't remember like Jake Plummer's peak was the second year with the Arizona Cardinals. He's a local legend. They went 9-7. I still think he had more picks than touchdowns that year, but it felt like it was going down the right road, and that wasn't the case at all. It didn't work out, and it was his last year. Was he good to you? I've met him a couple times. I really like him, but I could also see him being in that mode as a younger guy, over it all and maybe want out. And I don't know. Some guys are mentors, and some guys are like, I'm over this.

No, so Jake was good to me, and I love Jake to this day. I think I didn't understand back then how to appreciate Jake and where he was at, but you said it. I mean, he had enjoyed a great career there in Phoenix collegiately, and so for him, it had run its course in that town. He was over it, right? He was over it, yeah. And I think he was the type of player that he needed to be somewhere

where he could really take a team and do something with it if he had the right guys around him. And I don't know necessarily with his time with the Cardinals if he ever got that opportunity. You saw when he went to Denver, he really excelled. But he was good as far as, I think, showing me how to, you know, especially the veterans in the locker room, how to respect them,

how to treat them. But at the same time, you know, Jake has a very fun side to him, much like how he plays. It's kind of, you know, up and down, and all of a sudden you get, you know, you get these funny moments. of, you know, up and down and all of a sudden you get, you know, you get these funny moments and, and, uh, and so like, I'll never, I'll never forget like, uh, Jake walking through the training room one time and you know, like if you're spending time in a training room, you know, when you do like, kind of like similar to like maybe a pregnancy where they put the gel on the ultrasound on the belly and they rub it around, well, they do that, you know,

when you're doing like STEM and ultrasound and stuff like that to, kind of heat up a you know an arm or a knee or whatever well there was a guy getting treatment and jake rolled by and grabbed the gel and like squirted it on him and like i mean it was just like he was a practical joker like that like it was funny and like most guys you would think oh man like this but, like this is about, you know, and everybody died. Everybody laughed. But at the same time, he could step in the huddle and command the respect of the dude. So I just, I understood how like his leadership style was that he was connected to everybody on the team. The guys liked him.

They gravitated to him. And I had fun backing up Jake, man. It was awesome. McCown started the last three games of his rookie season losing the first two, but winning in dramatic fashion on the last play of the game versus Minnesota and knocking the Vikings out of the playoffs. On fourth down. They got to hurry up and run a play.

They don't have time to spike it. Come on, Josh. Hurry up. If you're going to run a play, you got to run it. This is the ball game. Fourth down. Five, four. They're watching in Green Bay.

McCown. For the end zone. It's caught. Nathan Cole has a touchdown. Wow, can you believe it? The Cardinals just upset the Minnesota Vikings. So that's that one year. Then Jeff Blake is in, and it's still, was the plan still,

even though you started three games in 2003, was the plan still like, look, we're going to take this along slowly, and then ultimately you became the starter in 2004? Or was there frustration? I think, you know, Jeff was there, you know, kind of similar to the role that I played these last probably five or six years for some guys where he was there, you know, just based on the pace that I was coming along at. And I don't know that necessarily I was ready to go that year, you know,

and especially now looking back going out, I wasn't ready. And so Jeff started out and he played most of that year, my second year, and I started the last three games and had some good moments. You know, we had that crazy win against Minnesota and, you know, did some good things enough to build my confidence to really kind of gain some momentum. And then, you know, we hired Denny Green and we, you know, we drafted Larry Fitzgerald

instead of, you know, making the move to take an Eli Manning or Phillip Rivers. And so I get an opportunity to start. And I had a blast. And I'm, you know'm forever indebted to Denny Green for that opportunity. But, yeah, I mean, that was kind of the progression. I wasn't in my second year. I just wasn't ready to go. And I learned something from Jeff.

I mean, my favorite thing about Jeff was just the deep ball. Like, he could spin it, bro. And throwing the ball downfield, it was an art for him. And so it was fun watching him do could, and throwing the ball downfield was, was, it was an art for him. And, uh, and so it was fun watching him do that. And I, you know, learned some things, but I just wasn't ready to go in my second year. So the third year is really when, you know, it was probably the right time for me. Okay. So that year, you know, the team's record is six and seven. Your numbers are, you know, okay. But then it feels like in 2005 and feel free to tell me to go screw myself if you think there's things that I'm not seeing um going back to that because you know I'm always trying to

figure out like are you in that moment going holy bleep I'm not ready for this or hey I'm great I just need a little bit more help like where are you now year three and four because by the time year four rolls around it ends up being your last year there and you actually only started six games yeah exactly so I think yeah in year three about halfway through you know we have we had Anquan Bolden there we had Larry we were getting some pieces um and I think I felt like you know what we're we're moving in the right direction I'm starting to figure this thing out, you know. And Emmitt Smith was on his last year there. He was a huge help for me.

And it was good to hear? Yeah, he was great to me. I mean, I'll never forget, you know, the moments I had. Emmitt Smith, like, we played Tiger Woods golf during training camp. And that dude played that game as intense as he played the game of football. It was awesome and like so dudes are trying to nap in between meetings into it back in the old uh camp where it was two days and all that guys are trying to nap and Emmett is here we go tiger you know he's he's uh it was

awesome and I mean as a kid growing up in Texas to go you know to be able to sit there and and have those moments with him uh you know I'll always always remember that so that was what was cool about that third year halfway through that year though they made a quarterback change we're sitting there like whatever that record was um at the time like four or five but we had won like a couple in a row and we were really building I was starting to figure it out and they benched me for like three or four games and that really hurt because I felt like I wasn't necessarily putting up the numbers, but that Denny wanted to, but that, you know, that we were heading in the right direction.

But, you know, he was trying to spark the offense and I understood that and came in and played towards the end of the year and, you know, got a few more wins and got us to, you know, to, you know, respectable. We were in the hunt towards the end, but, but then that, that next off season, they brought in Kurt Warner. And so, you know, there I was in my fourth year, really thinking that was going to be my second year of starting and ready to take off. And, and Kurt was there and, and end up getting a job.

And so I was kind of, you know, in a different, in a different spot. Yeah. Kurt started 10 games, but the record was terrible. And that's funny too, because I thought after Kurt was with the Giants, I thought he was toast because he was really bad with the Giants. And I couldn't figure it out. And then, you know, that team almost ended up winning a Super Bowl. So you're four years in. It sounds like your confidence is still really high. You were on the right path. So you must have been leaving mad. And that's why you end up with the joy in a new contract. and then Kitna becomes the starter.

So how anti-the-NFL business are you about year five into this going, wait a minute, this isn't the way it was supposed to go? Yeah, exactly. I mean, more than anything, not necessarily anti as much as just going, this is the business, like, hello. And I think much like anything in life, you try to learn from the people around you. But until it happens to you, do you really internalize that lesson? And that was what that's what it was for me.

Like, you know, I had seen the business happen to my teammates, but I had never, you know, had it happen to me. And so, you know, we that last year in Arizona, I think I went, you know, I replaced Kurt for six games and I won three and lost three, I believe. So I'm sitting there with a 3-3 record, and I don't know what, I mean, whatever the math is on that. He won a couple games and lost six or seven. So in my young mind, I'm going, okay, I'm at least 500. I'm doing some good things. But their logic was like if we get more pieces around Kurt,

we feel like we can really take off. And, you know, to a degree they were right. Obviously they went through a coaching change, but what Kurt was able to do to take that team to the Super Bowl when, you know, is, you know, that story's been told. But, but so I think, yes, in that moment, I'm just like, okay, this, you know, a lot of this doesn't add up. I'm out of here. And so the opportunity to return was there, but I think they had their mindset on drafting Matt or a young quarterback and pairing him with Kurt and moving on. And so, yeah, I ended up in Detroit and connected with John,

who's still a great friend to this day, and battled it out with him. That situation for me was different just because we went there to compete, but it didn't necessarily play out in my mind the way I thought competition was going to be. I thought it was going to be open and we were going to split reps and so on. It didn't necessarily shake out that way. He was kind of getting the lion's share of first-team reps. So I'm going, you know, I came here,

I made the choice to come here thinking this thing was open. It wasn't really open. And so, again, another learning curve for me. But I think in that moment was where I started to understand that you can bring value to a team as a backup, you know, and not just by playing, but just your ability to help other positions to help the current quarterback that's playing. I think that was the best year for me to,

to kind of learn that. And I think was a tool that as I picked that up, helped me throughout the rest of my career. We'll get back to Josh McCown, but want to remind you when the weather gets colder and the fun moves indoors, is there anything better than curling up on the couch with some great bottles of wine personalized to you? First Leaf has created a club experience customized to you by rating the wine you receive. First Leaf determines your likes and dislikes and only sends wine that you'll love. Get started with First Leaf by answering three quick questions about your wine drinking preferences.

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plus free shipping at tryfirstleaf.com slash Russillo. So I have to ask you, and if I don't get a great story out of this, I'm going to just call you a liar. And you know what? I want to do that to you, Josh. No. But you go to Oakland with the first pick in the 2007 NFL draft,

the Oakland Raiders select quarterback Jamarcus Russell, LSU. Six, five and a half, 260 pounds. You saw him throw on his knees over 60 yards. Jamarcus Russell, who last year threw for over 3,000 yards, 68%. 28 TDs and only 8 interceptions. Played big in the big games, and now

he's the number one overall pick in the 2007 draft, making it 8 of the last 10 years a quarterback going number one, Mel. And you're right, look at this. Oakland taking a guy like Matt Liner or Jay Cutler last year. They could have taken Calvin Johnson, but the quarterback situation, the way it is right now, Jamarcus Russell is going to immediately energize that Raider nation, that fan base, that football team,

on the practice field, in that locker room. Three years from now, you could be looking at a guy who's certainly one of the elite top five quarterbacks in this league. You go to Oakland in 2007 and all this will kind of come around here so it doesn't feel like we're going year to year because I just want to move on

to Detroit. You didn't play and it was Kitna. But it started sinking and okay, now I'm on my third team and I imagine at this point you're still thinking like,

look, I'm supposed to be a starter. Everything's going to be fine. It's the 4-12 Raiders in 2007. Lane Kiffin's the head coach. The quarterback room is you,

Dante Culpepper, Jamarcus Russell, and Ronald Curry, technically there. I can't imagine what that quarterback room was like. Give me your best story from that. It was interesting to say the least. Oh, come on. You're going to be too nice here. No, no. I'm going to get to you. And Andrew Walter, too, was involved in that race.

That's right. Andrew Walter was there. He did have five attempts that season. Yes, correct. Oh, eight. Eight. Sorry. Yeah, so, gosh, where do I begin? There was a lot of good stories. I think, you know, Jamarcus getting there late. I've told the story of when he finally gets there

and he's got a $40 million signing bonus and he's doing the rookie show and he walks to the front of the room, turns on, turns on a stereo and, uh, and grabs a duffel bag of cash and just start shaking the duffel bag. And there's a hundred dollar bills going everywhere. Okay. And, and we had not moved that fast on, you know, in a game yet. And those guys were tackling each other better than we had all year and grabbing money. I mean, it was it was insane. Like that was a crazy thing. That was one of those moments where you're sitting there and I'm sitting behind Warren Sapp and Warren's, you know, fist pumping and going crazy, you know, and loving it and kind of endorsing it. So the guys are all over it.

crazy, you know, and loving it and kind of endorsing it. So the guys are all over it. I mean, it was, it was a crazy, you know, like it was, you know, it felt like just a scene out of a movie. Like this is really happening later in the year. Later in the year. So I, you know, I played some games, I got hurt. I come back in, you know, whatever. Well, later in the year, they're getting ready to, they're getting ready to play Jamarcus, you know, it's kind of the time they want to start playing him. And so, um, so I believe it was, yeah, I, I had played and gotten injured. So now Dante was playing. Okay. And Jamarcus, the last game that I had played before I got injured, had gotten a series or two.

Of course, he jogs on the field, black holes going crazy, whatever. All right? He moves the ball a little bit, but no points type of deal, but they're still cheering him, right? And so I'm having to go out on the field and do my thing as best I can or whatever. I get injured that game. Dante comes in and plays a game, I believe.

But I don't know that they did that. They played. I don't know that they played DeMarcus because we were on the road in Kansas City. So I think DeMarcus didn't play that week. Then the next week we come back home and they're going to play DeMarcus. And by the way, just to interrupt, I went through all of this last night, and I swear to God, every one of you got benched for somebody every other week. And it was like, Lane would go, hey, Josh was great, just needed a spark.

We really liked the way Dante competed, but we needed a spark. We're back to Josh. Hey, we're going to let Jamarcus get some snaps. And boom, every single week, there'd be a new update from Lane. So did you guys start to hate him? Did you guys all get along? Because it had to be really frustrating. I think for me at that point, at that point, I understood who was running the show, you know, and like Lane was 33 years old. He's he's, he was, he was barely a

year older than my older brother at the time. So I'm just like, and you realize very quick when you're in that organization, especially, uh, when Mr., that his mark was all over every decision that was being made. So it was kind of the point, like at the time you're like, is this really lame? But when I watched him in a meeting room and call a football game, I'm like, this dude's a smart dude. Like he's a good football mind. Like there's no way he's making these decisions because it doesn't add up. I've always heard that. I've always heard that

football people will tell you, this guy can call a game with anybody and that's why he still continues to get all the opportunities that he's going to get. He's sharp. We're getting ready to play the Denver Broncos second time around. This is a Thursday practice and Dante slated the start.

So he gets, you know, he's ready to go. He's ready to start. He goes through practice. Well, they start working Jamarcus in per Mr. Davis's request. They start working Jamarcus in, and I don't, Dante, you know, he really wasn't feeling that, you know, I think because. Because Dante's trying to survive too, he's like, you're 28, Dante's 30, he's still thinking

he's the guy from the video game, putting up massive numbers, like he's not over it either. No doubt about it, exactly. So, so I think he wasn't feeling it, So I'm not even dressed for practice. So we're done with practice. The current depth chart is Dante is a starter, Jamarcus is a two, Andrew Walter is a three, and I'm inactive, but we're carrying four.

So I'm catching balls because I was in a walking boot because I had hurt my toe or something. I can't remember. But I'm catching balls for Andrew Walter after practice, okay, because he's trying to get his arm loose because he doesn't get any reps in practice. Casey's got to go. Well, through the course of, like, the wind-down of practice, Dante starts to figure out that Jamarcus is going to play a lot in this game.

And, like I said, he wasn't really feeling it. play a lot in this game. And like I said, he wasn't really feeling it. So post-practice, he goes and races Stanford route for some money or something. I don't know what they were doing, but he goes and races them. They just kind of had, I guess, a gentleman's bet that Dante could beat him with a 20-yard head starter. So I don't know what the deal was. So in that time frame

they're racing and something happens to dante at the race i'm catching balls for andrew and as i'm catching balls for him my left pinky compound dislocates through my through my skin okay so i'm like crap you know i already got a boot on. So I walk in the training room. I go in the training room. I get in there. They sew my finger up, whatever. And Dante's on the training table. I'm like, what's up, man?

And he's like, yeah, man, I just tweaked my hamstring. Running, racing against Stanford. I'm like, you kidding me? He goes, no, man, I don't know what's up. I'm like, that's crazy. And he goes, yeah. He goes, you better be ready to go. And I'm like, well, I got a walking boot on. I just got my finger I'm like well I got a walking boot on I just got my finger sewed up like literally 10 seconds ago just got my finger sewed up so then we go to Andrew and we're like Andrew you know you gotta be ready to

go they're gonna play Jamarcus Andrew's like man because he wanted to get traded whenever they drafted Jamarcus and get it so he's been mad for 12 weeks. So Andrew's like, nah, bro, I ain't playing. So, so like, Lane's like trying to process all this and Greg Nass off of the coordinator, John D Filippo is a quarterback coach. Like we're all trying to figure this all out. So they look at me and they're like, can you go? I'm like, can I go?

I got a boot and my fingers stitched up. So we figure out a glove for my finger, tape up my foot, and they're like, listen, Jamarcus is going to get in there at some point. Right? So I'm like, all right. So I go from – I didn't practice Wednesday. I did not practice Thursday. I practiced Friday.

All right? And then I go to the game and we play Denver Broncos and we beat the crap out of them, and I throw three touchdowns, like, on one day's practice. But the whole time, like, I'm getting booed because everybody wants to see Jamarcus play. So, like, Jamarcus comes jogging out there. But this whole turn of events of just, like, it was just a circus.

I remember walking out to the field going, like, I didn't even practice this week. Like, what are we doing, you know? And it was, like, that was kind of the day-to-day in Oakland at that time. Like, it was just like, there's more than those stories. I hope that one's a good enough one. There's a litany of those. I can't fucking believe that was an NFL team.

I'm sorry to swear in front of you. But I just, I wish we could rename this Raider Stories with Josh McCown because that's, that was... I think that was kind of our sentiment at times. It was just like, well, this is happening, you know? And I mean, it was just, yeah. It's hard to explain, man.

All right, so this is your NFL reality, all right? And now we're sitting here and we're 28-year-old Josh McCown. it's hard to explain, man. All right, so this is your NFL reality, all right? Yeah. And now we're sitting here, and we're 28-year-old Josh McCown. You're looking for the next gig. And is it dawning on you that, you know what, this is not going to go the way I thought? Like, I'm going to be a backup. I'm going to be a backup,

and I just need to figure out the best backup thing. Or are you still thinking, like, there's a way I can make this work? Yes. I mean, at some point, yeah, you're starting to sit there and think that. Bill Parcells takes over the Dolphins, and I'm kind of thinking my best shot is going to be, you know, as a backup, like you're saying. Well, Tony Sperano gets hired as the head coach,

and they give me a call the first night of free agency. They're like, we want you. We're going to pair you with a rookie, you know, and let you guys battle it. Not Matt Ryan, not Matt Ryan. Yeah. Right. Not Matt Ryan. And so I ended up down there and but only there for, so I go through all of spring like I'm there with quarterback coach David Lee who reached kind of retools my release and really helps me with a lot of things.

But in the process of just like a golfer going through a new swing, I struggled a lot early on in camp with accuracy because I was committed to kind of fixing this thing. And so I wasn't very good in camp. Chad Henney wasn't necessarily going to be ready. Couple that with Favre unretiring and coming to the Jets. The Jets let Pennington go. Parcells calls me in and says, hey, no hard feelings,

but I'm signing Chad Pennington, and we're going to move on from you because we're not going to pay you what we're paying you to be the three because Chad Henney, our second-round draft pick, is going to be the backup. So I got traded to Carolina, but, but one of my favorite experiences from that, it was just watching Chad Pennington come in. I was only there with Chad for like a week or 10 days,

but watching him own the room and how like he got there on a, on a Wednesday and I think, or a Tuesday or Wednesday. And we played Jacksonville in a third or fourth preseason game, like on a, on a Wednesday and I think, or a Tuesday or Wednesday and we played Jacksonville on the third or fourth preseason game, like on a Thursday or Friday. And he pulled guys together and he orchestrated the whole offense and how he wanted it done. And it was, it was masterful. And I was so impressed. And for me, I was like, dude, that's, that's crazy.

And I had seen Kurt do it, want do it, to a degree a little bit, but not really ever done that way. And so I took from that. It was beneficial. Those 10 days with Chad was beneficial for me because he was like, my butt's on the line out there. And so I want to make sure that they're lined up right, that they're getting where they're supposed to be,

because my skill set, I need guys where they're supposed to be because I had to play anticipation football, all those things. And I was like, oh, that's ownership. That's real ownership of your career. And so that was a big moment for me. I get interviewed and traded to Carolina, but that was huge for me. And I always valued that time in Miami. But I had to then shift to kind of backup mode because of that.

And, you know, it wasn't fun, but it's still, it's your career. Like it's, this is the job that you're in and you can still earn a living doing it and earn a very good living doing it by the way. And so it's like, okay, if you can shift modes and be pliable enough to do that and kind of check your ego, you can really help a team and bring value to a team and hopefully earn a living on the way. You know, what's great about that answer is that had nothing to do with any of my prep, honestly, like I didn't have the Miami thing in there in the saga, but you just explaining that to me and the listeners here, it is the, it's the molding of, of part two of Josh McCown. Like I, now it all makes sense and why you became this guy. But one thing that I thought was, there's

two things that I have to make sure I get to. It's incredible to think that I lived in Hartford when you were playing for the Hartford Colonials. So we could have been hanging out, but we just, we just didn't know. By the way, when you played for the Hartford Colonials, so we could have been hanging out. We should have been. We just didn't know. By the way, when you played for the Hartford Colonials, real quick answer here, were you actually

living in Hartford too? Yes. Is it Cromwell? Yeah, you were living in Cromwell. You moved the family out to Cromwell? No, no, no, just me.

It was only like, what, four home games, if that? Yes, exactly. Is it Rensselaer? Yeah, Rensselaer Field. yeah yeah that's what yeah so powerhouse so yeah yeah so um so it was only yeah so we just left them we were home based after when i got traded to carolina we kind of set up shop there and here that's where we are now and and uh and so i would just go up there because it was only going to be a short amount of time um but i

couldn't believe it like just the more important part of this isn't that we were both in Hartford at the same time. Is that... But it is. Yeah, well, you know, look, we'll do that as like a B-side to this. Is that the Bears and other teams, after you had signed a deal with the Hartford Colonials, you told these teams no in 2010. And it was almost like you were done with...

Obviously, you weren't done with football if you're going to play with Colonials, but the snaps were more important to you. The reps were more important to you as if you felt like, I don't want to go into another situation where I feel like I'm being lied to. And I think people started going like, what's this dude about?

Yet at the same time, having massive respect for you for honoring a contract from a league that I couldn't even name right now. Exactly. And shout out to those leagues. Bummer that this recent one didn't work out, but there is a space for those leagues,

and I hope we get something figured out because we need it. And I'm a testament to that. Yeah, it was one of those moments really for me where I just felt like in my gut and, you know, in your soul, your spirit, however you internalize that, just for me I was like man I should honor this this contract I told these guys I'm coming they're depending on me and I coupled that with like the opportunity to go to to camp with the Bears for the next 10 days like what what can really come from that you know and I need to go play because every all

the feedback we were getting was you just sat behind behind Jake Delone for two years. You don't have any tape. You need to play. So I'm like, all right, well, I'm going to go play. And if you remember the year before the league only, I said three or four years, but JP Lossman had played the year before and got in with the Seattle Seahawks. So I'm like, you know what? I'm going to play. Cause I can get, that's the best way to get back in. And I just felt like, you know, honoring, play because I can get that's the best way to get back in and I just felt like you know honor and honor my word that was the best thing for me in that time and um and there are so many moments it along that that I was like that was the dumbest thing I don't know why like the whole point of me coming here is to get back to NFL and I just told the NFL no I'm an idiot you know and so were you

doubting were you like what the hell am I doing why am I doing this because I'm sure no one showed up to any of the games. No. You know what? Rensselaer was pretty good. I'm going to tell you, sneaky, awesome environment was Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Nebraska. All right. I love it. I love this. I didn't know this. Omaha Nighthawks, led by Jeff Garcia and Amon Green. You would like, you would have thought they were playing football, like, UFL football there for 30 years. We pulled up, they're tailgating. That also informed me about the nightlife and what's going on in Omaha, Nebraska, because we pulled up and it was packed. And I'm like, there is literally nothing to do here. Because these people, like, they had t-shirts,

everybody had a black on. I thought, you know, I was like, this is literally nothing to do here. Because these people, like, they had T-shirts. Everybody had a black on. I thought, you know, I was like, this is, and this organization just got in there that year. So was that, is it fair to say that 2010 is the biggest year for you, like, on the road, groupies, and just going wild? I'm just, I'm just totally mad. You couldn't be more of a family guy. I think you're on kid number 12, and you're far more mature than I'll ever be. We're holding at four. But that would have totally been the year to let it spiral out of control. you're on kid number 12 and you're more mature than I'll ever be. We're holding at four, but that would have totally been the year to let it spiral out of control. Because when the bus breaks down

on the way to the first practice on the UFL, when you've told the NFL, no, you're ready to just kind of let yourself go. And I was at that point. But then you're back in. You're back in. It was three years with Chicago. And look, you went through a stretch where I think it's five years you started two games in the NFL, and now you have your NFL life back again. And now there's a market for Josh McKenna. I have to imagine that even though it's not what you wanted,

you go, the check is good, and people like me. And now I know what the role is. Yeah, exactly. And I think more than anything too for me, getting to be in Chicago, working with Jay Cutler, who's a dear friend I love. Wait a minute.

Back up there. He's different, but I love. Yeah, I love him. He's my guy. He's my guy. You're still friends with him now? Oh, yeah, of course. Of course.

Why was he such a weird teammate, though? Or is that, like, did the team love him? Like, I'd always been, I was always, I'd ask, and Skies would be like, you know, you probably like him, Ryan, because he just goes, hey, I don't want to deal with this, and I'm not going to pretend I'm going to deal with it. Like, I don't want to deal with it. So, I don't know.

And I think that's fair. And, yeah, I do. I think y'all would y'all probably enjoy a beer together i mean like i think he's he is he is you know what you see is what you get and um and you know he's not gonna not gonna sugarcoat things when he talks to you about it and uh and i think to a degree especially you know kind of in the i i think – I think it's continuing to evolve and change with kind of the prototypical mindset of like what guys expect from a quarterback. He was different in that mold. And some guys were cool with that.

Some guys weren't, you know. And so – but I think he would tell you even then, like we all are, he's growing and changing. And I just think for me, like where I was in my career and where he was, it was just a cool intersection because I was past trying to scratch and claw my way to the top and start and undercut the guy and all those things that happened. But I just felt, I just saw value in like, how can I help Jay be the best, you know, best player he can be, best leader he can be, all those things. And so that had value to me.

And then it helped me play better ultimately because we would study the offense together. So I was processing and to a degree like mastering our offense better because I was working with him so much on the side. And he was other guys too. So I think, you know it from that standpoint it was it was fun and when you go through you know a shared experience like that um there's a ton of trust that that builds there so yeah i mean that's i think that's what you know that's how friendship grows so it was really cool and then i get with tressman who got hired there and just from an x and o football standpoint kind of of just, you know, you know how you'll connect with somebody and you're just like, man,

we kind of have the same brain. Like we're, as far as how we see, how we see subject X, whatever it is, like we, we really connect over that conversation. And that's kind of how it was with Mark and I was football, like how he saw the game and how he spoke about the game for me was very similar to how my brain was wired and so healthy and I think was you know part and parcel of why I was able to play at a high level when I when I got to play for him and that really kind of jump-started you know what was what has been

the last whatever five years or so. McCown was named the starter again this time in Cleveland week three of 2015 but you can tell the fans wanted Manziel. Well, hello everyone. We are back out here in Berea. The Browns are getting ready to face the Raiders on Sunday at First Energy Stadium, and it's back to Josh McCown. Mike Pettin made the decision that Josh gives him the best opportunity to win. He cleared the concussion protocol. He's ready to go. Let's get to those last five years. I want to play the cut for you where if people didn't have an opinion of you one way or the other, it was when you addressed the media in Cleveland and everybody played this cut. I'm going to play it for everybody right now. Josh, we've seen you play through a lot of injuries.

Where does the ability to do that come from? How long, I mean, is this something that you, you were like this when you were, you know, a kid growing up playing football? I mean, how do you explain that? I think it's just not wanting to not be out there with your guys. I got a dad and older brother who I know get up and go to work and sometimes they don't feel great and they go and they grind. And I got two little boys that they're playing football now and they get hit and they get banged up and trying to teach them what toughness means, you know. And so for me, it's it's those things that and just knowing the window for me right now and understanding that I don't want to miss snaps.

I don't want to be out, you know, without my guys. So so, you know, for me, it's just, you know, unless it's, you know, going to fall off, let's try to make it work and make it go. So that's my mentality. That really felt like a moment. I remember doing the radio after the fact, and it's like, this guy, this guy's awesome. How much of that is growing up on a ranch? How much of it's thinking about your dad, thinking about your brother, thinking about your kids, thinking about your NFL career. It looked like it was over so many different times and the fact that you're at the end and you're emotional, but it was so real.

Right. I think it's all of those things. I think you're right. It hit me and just, it hit me from the standpoint of just, like, at that point, especially coming out of Hartford, it was literally year to year. And so I'm thinking, yeah, this is, you know, even though I had signed a two-year deal in Tampa and then a three-year deal or whatever it was in Cleveland,

like, it was still that mentality. You know, you never leave that mentality. And so, for me, I think it was a culmination of all those things. And, you know, my old man, you know, we grew up on a sawmill. They're building skids, pallets, you know. And that's what my older brother Randy does now. He runs that business. And, you know, it was nothing for a guy.

You know, you're working in lumber. It was nothing for a guy to, you know, to slice his hand open and or my dad you know and like you know as a kid you're looking like you're really bleeding there pop like you need to go to the hospital and my old man would wrap a shirt around it or whatever and just keep grinding and keep going to work and um and so I think that was what was caught for me. You know, like the old saying, more is caught than taught. I think that was what was caught for me growing up was just his toughness and my older brother's toughness.

And it wasn't necessarily a sit-down that my dad talked to me about that as much as it was just I watched his life, and that's how he was. And so for me in that moment, it was just like, all right, this is what we do. You just get up and you keep grinding, you know, and that's what you do. And I think, in some respects, just wanting to make sure I paid that forward to my son of what I was able to observe of their grandfather. So I think that was, you know, what that moment was for me more than anything. I really like that first Jets year for you.

By the way, does that mean my ranch research is off there, not at Ranch and Jacksonville? No, no, no, no. No, you know, ranch is, no, that's my old man. Like, he would work the pallet business from, you know, six in the morning to six at night, and he would come home and work the cows. And, like, that was his hobby.

Like, that was his fun, you know? So, like, most guys play golf. Like, my dad ran cattle as, like, his pastime. Look, living in Vermont, like, I had a couple guys that I knew that guys that are really into cattle are really into it. No doubt. And especially if we're talking just, um, the dairy side of it too, like I would just be like the way they would talk about cows. I mean, they really, they were

people in their lives and all the different, they always kind of, I don't want to say it weirds me out. Cause I guess I could understand how you would get there, but that's all right. I wanted to make sure. Cause I was like, wait a minute. I thought he grew up on a ranch and then you started talking about cattle and basketball. That's my old man, cattle and basketball, cattle and basketball. Cause pallets aren talking about pallets. Cattle and basketball. That's my old man. Cattle and basketball. Cattle and basketball. Because pallets aren't nearly as much fun as cattle and basketball. No, not at all. I will admit to that after years of having to unload brick pallets.

So that year when you're 38, just a couple years ago with the Jets, you start 13 games. I know the record isn't what it was. That team was supposed to be terrible. I actually thought collectively that was like a great year for you, for Todd Bowles. I just, look, I've never had a year where I go, I really liked that Jets team.

I loved that story for that year. And I feel like for you at that point, over 10 years of this stuff, all over the place, never really feeling like it worked out. How much did that season let you feel good about your NFL career in a way that maybe you wouldn't have felt prior to that year?

Oh, I mean, it was huge. And I think for that reason, like you're saying, it was, it was kind of, for me, answer a lot of questions. I think I had been in different roles and going through, you know, that situation and kind of going, okay, you got to be the guy and you got to help this team along because it's kind of a young team. And, you know, we've tripped away a lot of the guys that have made plays prior to, which Eric Decker, Brandon Marshall, you know, David Harris off the defense. A ton of guys were gone. And so I think for me, yeah, it was, it was like, can you, can you come in with

this group and bring them along and, and be competitive and win games and, and, um, and move in the right direction. And, um, and so it was like having to use all of the experiences that I had, that I had gone through before and really getting the kind of, you know, empty the clip, so to speak with that group and just say, you know, this is what I learned in Arizona. This is what I learned not to do in Oakland. This is what I learned from, um, from Jake DeLong. This is, this is how I got better in Chicago and kind of pass that onto that group. So, yeah, I mean, it was in that, in that sense, very fulfilling and, uh,

and just, you know, thankful to be a part of it because it was fun, you know, it was fun for me to be able to kind of play that kind of football. Because after I left Trestman, you know, it was just kind of up and down and some good moments. I did have some good moments in Cleveland with DeFilippo, but, you know, just the dynamic was different as far as that whole team.

And so with the Jets, it was really, that was special for me. And that year was a lot of fun. You'll be 40 this summer. Are you done? Man, I think I will know by then. I can say that. I'll be 40 this summer. I think I will know by then.

You know, if I'm at peace moving forward with whatever, you know, my'm at peace moving forward with whatever. You know, my body feels good, but I'm in a space with my family. I'll have two boys in high school next year that I'm looking forward to being around. So I'm still processing just exactly how that's going to unfold. But I think given, you know, even the last two years with the Jets, but even last year with Sam and working with him, I mean, I'm at peace with how it's gone.

You know, I couldn't be more thankful for, you know, the career that I've gotten to enjoy. So we'll see what happens moving forward, but hopefully we'll know by then. Well, it's been a pleasure to watch you, man. And it's really fun to get to know a guy like you. And it all started actually from hearing about your brother liking the show, going back to SVP and Rosillo and Canel and all that stuff. And I think you should, despite the challenges, all this stuff,

feel really proud about the guy you've become. So thanks. Oh, I appreciate it, man. I appreciate it. I want to thank everybody for joining us for part four of the Backup QB Stories. Josh McCown will have draft coverage for you next week. And a reminder, here's the good news. The number of collisions involving a train at a railway crossing is down 83% from its peak in the 1970s.

Here's the bad news. There are still more than 2,000 incidents a year. Stop. Trains can.