Cards’ McCoy isn’t listening to noise

Cardinals coach Steve Wilks knows everything that’s been written, said and shown about his football team. We know this because he’s often remarked about some of the coverage he and the Cardinals have been getting since the day he was named to replace Bruce Arians back in January.

Wilks, though, likes to say he’s great at “tuning out the outside noise.”

Nobody needs to do that more than beleaguered offensive coordinator Mike McCoy, whose job appears to be on thin ice entering Thursday night’s game against the Broncos, the team that fired him just a year ago following a disappointing 3-7 start.

There has been a growing sense of belief in and around the Cardinals’ facility that the same fate could be awaiting McCoy this week should the Cardinals (1-5) suffer any type of an ugly loss to the equally struggling Broncos, who have dropped four games in a row.

Apparently, however, McCoy hasn’t only tuned out the outside noise, he hasn’t heard or seen any what’s been raging across social media or any other news-gathering platforms.

“No offense,” he said Tuesday, “but I don’t watch a lot of TV, I don’t read papers, I don’t get on the internet. I’m too busy doing other things, like putting plans together. When my family is in town, I spend every minute I can with them or talk to them at night when they’re in San Diego.”

McCoy paused and then added, “I’ve been in this long enough.”

More than likely, that’s coach-speak for McCoy knowing exactly what’s being written and said about him and his inefficient offense that ranks at or near the bottom of the NFL in every important statistical category.

But as much as McCoy’s future seems to be tied by what happens at State Farm Stadium on Thursday night, and the eerily similar circumstances that surround its outcome, he wasn’t acting or sounding any different when he met with reporters Tuesday. Whether he’s heard the repeated calls for his head or not, McCoy looks to be dialed in on just focusing on the present and nothing else.

“It’s the next one,” he said. “I’ve got great respect for the entire (Broncos) organization. I was very fortunate to be a part of their organization two different times with some great players with some great people, from (owner) Mr. (Pat) Bowlen all the way down.”

When Wilks was asked on Monday if McCoy’s job was in jeopardy, he said, “I would say all of our jobs are in jeopardy, including mine if we don’t win.”

McCoy, though, apparently isn’t feeling the pressure.

“We’re focused on this week,” he said. “That’s all you do in this business. You try to be 1-0 at the end of every week, and that’s what we’re focused on.”

Broncos coach Vance Joseph, who pulled the trigger on McCoy’s exit in Denver, said the threat of being replaced is always a possibility for a coach in the NFL. McCoy knows that, too, having been fired by the Chargers after a modest four-year run there as head coach.

“It’s a production business. He understands that,” Joseph said during a conference call with Arizona reporters. “We’re all in the same business, so we all get it. If we don’t produce, and we don’t win, then we can’t keep our jobs. Mike understands that. I understand that, and Coach Wilks understands that. It’s the same for every coach in the National Football League. We’re all coaching and playing for our jobs every single week. It’s no different this week.”

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald was asked Tuesday if he’s ever felt he had to perform better than usual to help save a coach’s job. The answer, he said, was yes. He felt that from the moment former coach Dennis Green drafted him in the first round and, by doing so, passed on a couple of franchise-altering quarterbacks.

“I felt an enormous amount of pressure to play well for Coach Green,” Fitzgerald said. “I had known him since I was 6, 7 years old. He was like an uncle to me. He stepped out on a limb and drafted me here when obviously there was a need for a quarterback. I mean, they could have drafted Ben Roethlisberger or they could have drafted Philip Rivers.

“They had some talented players that he skipped over to take me, so I felt a lot of pressure and I really wanted to do well for him. When he was fired after the ’06 season, it took a toll on me. It was real hard because you want to do so well.”

In that regard, Fitzgerald let it be known just how much he feels for McCoy, even though no one really ever asked him about McCoy.

“I know the people outside of the building don’t understand what it’s like to see guys working so hard,” he said. “I mean, Mike McCoy is in this building every day at 4:30, leaving here at 1030. I don’t even know if he sees his wife and kids. He’s a tireless worker, all these guys put a lot of time and effort to give us the recipe to go out there and have success.”

Reach McManaman at bob.mcmanaman@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @azbobbymac and listen to him live every Tuesday afternoon between 3-6 on 1580-AM The Fanatic with Roc and Manuch and every Wednesday afternoon between 1-3 on Fox Sports 910-AM on The Freaks with Kenny and Crash.