PHOENIX — Former Arizona Cardinals quarterback Colt McCoy officially retired from the NFL in early August.
McCoy played for five teams in 14 seasons in the NFL. The two-time Heisman Trophy finalist is also known for playing days in college for the Texas Longhorns. McCoy opened up to 12Sports’ Cameron Cox about his decision to retire.
But the question everyone keeps asking him is, did he get his kids that dog he promised he’d get them when he retired from football?
“I know everybody has been asked me if I've got a dog yet,” said McCoy. “My kids are wearing me out. We actually moved back to Texas, kind of still in transition. It's coming. Soon as we can make the move fully.”
McCoy also explains how working with NBC as an analyst for Big Ten football games has made the retirement transition easier.
“Dealt with a lot of injuries and sort of had to retire because of my elbow injury. I tried and tried really hard to come back from that. Having that realization actually kind of helped me in my transition to know that I just can't go out there and do it," McCoy explained. "I just choose to be grateful. It would be hard to find somebody else that loves the game as much as I do. I'm excited to call some college games on NBC. I'm a huge college football fan. That’ll give me a little bit of a soft landing as I figure out all the things that I want to do next. My problem is I can be a little bit too football.”
While the transition to life after football is ongoing, McCoy said he is still trying to get used to it.
"Knowing that I just can't do it anymore is a hard pill to swallow because I think the rest of my body and mine would probably still try to be playing and probably would have a lot of opportunities to do that," he said. "When I look at back at my career, I just feel like I was just kind of grinding the whole time through the NFL. Coming to Arizona was, was a big blessing for me. Getting to play in Kliff Kingsbury’s system and be around a couple really good football teams. I don't want anyone to feel sorry for me, but I think when you look at my career, I was on the on the cusp of a lot of really good things, if I could have just stayed healthy.”
Remember, McCoy was in the running to be the Cardinals starting quarterback last fall in the 2023 training camp when Kyler Murray was out with a knee injury.
Unfortunately, McCoy’s elbow injury never healed up fully from offseason surgery and the Cardinals cut him right before the start of the season. His last days in the NFL were spent under head coach Jonathan Gannon. McCoy is a big fan.
“JG and Monti (Ossenfort) and what those guys are trying to build. Drew Petzing calling plays on offense. I think the morale is definitely high. There's a belief in there that they're going to be a whole lot better. I think Kyler (Murray) is poised to have a really good year," McCoy stated. "Just from talking to him, Kyler feels very comfortable about where they're at. He’s got another weapon on the outside (Marvin Harrison Jr.). Michael Wilson is in his second year. Greg Dortch has always been a baller. Trey McBride and the way the tight end is kind of featured in that system. I think they're feeling good. I'm high on Kyler and I'm high on their offense I think he’s going to play really well this season.”
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