Matthew Garrett McCoy (born October 14, 1982) is a former

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

. He was selected by the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

in the second round of the

2005 NFL draft The 2005 NFL draft, the 70th in league history, took place on April 23 and 24, 2005 NFL season, 2005. The draft was held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City and was televised for the 26th consecutive year, with coverage on E ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

San Diego State San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system. SDSU is ...

. McCoy also played for the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

and

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

Early life

McCoy attended Tustin High School in

Tustin, California Tustin is a city located in Orange County, California, United States, within the Los Angeles metropolitan area. In 2020, Tustin had a population of 80,276. The city does not include the unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated communit ...

. He set the school record for

quarterback sacks In gridiron football, a sack occurs when the quarterback (or another offensive player acting as a passer) is tackled behind the line of scrimmage before throwing a forward pass, when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage in the ...

with 18.5 sacks as a junior. As a senior, he broke his own record with 23 sacks and was named "High School Defensive Player of the Year" by the Orange County Register.

College career

McCoy played

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CS ...

where he won All-

Mountain West Conference The Mountain West Conference (MW) is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States, participating in NCAA Division I. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The MW officially began operations on Ja ...

honors. He finished his career with eight sacks, 270

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

(26.5 for losses), four forced

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful h ...

s, three fumble recoveries, four

pass deflections In American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, f ...

, and a blocked kick.

Professional career

Philadelphia Eagles

McCoy was drafted by the

in the second round of the

as a project linebacker whom Eagles personnel felt they could develop. McCoy was expected to contribute to

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

, but did not contribute in his

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

season. Going into 2006, he was named the weakside linebacker starter by

Defensive Coordinator A defensive coordinator (DC) is a coach responsible for a gridiron football team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's coaching structure, wit ...

Jim Johnson. Initially he had been praised as having great speed, sideline to sideline pursuit abilities and a high motor, as well as described as a "ball hawk". He had an injured shoulder later in the year that prevented him from playing as well as he had during the first 6 weeks of the season, and ultimately led to his benching in favor of rookie

Omar Gaither Omar Thabiti Gaither (born March 18, 1984) is a former American football linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fifth round of the 2006 NFL draft. He was also a member of th ...

. Matt McCoy finished the season with 66 tackles, 2 sacks, 3 forces fumbles, and 5 tackles for loss. At the beginning of the 2007 season, McCoy was listed as a back-up linebacker and a starter on special team kickoffs. In the team's Week 8 game against the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

, McCoy was flagged for unnecessary roughness after a late hit on punter

Chris Kluwe Christopher James Kluwe ( ; born December 24, 1981) is an American writer, social activist and former professional football player who was a punter in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the UCLA Bruins before si ...

. The following day, he was cut in favor of

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

linebacker Akeem Jordan. When asked about the penalty's effect on the transaction,

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

Andy Reid Andrew Walter Reid (born March 19, 1958) is an American professional American football, football coach who is the head coach for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). Reid was previously the head coach of the Philadelphi ...

said Jordan was more the reason for the move.

New Orleans Saints

After being let go by the Eagles, McCoy was signed by the

on November 3, 2007. He appeared in four games with the team, recording two solo tackles. McCoy was not tendered a contract by the team as a

restricted free agent A restricted free agent (RFA) is a type of free agent in some sports leagues, such as the National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), and National Basketball Association (NBA). Such players have special restrictions on the term ...

the following off-season, making him an unrestricted free agent.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On March 4, 2008, McCoy signed with the

. After being inactive for the 2009 regular season opener, McCoy recorded one tackle against the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

on September 20. He was released by the Buccaneers on September 26 when

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

Mario Urrutia was promoted from the

. He was re-signed on September 29, when Urrutia was waived. McCoy was released again on October 13, to make room for newly signed wide receiver Yamon Figurs. He was re-signed on November 11.

Seattle Seahawks

On March 16, 2010, McCoy signed with the

References

External links

Seattle Seahawks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCoy, Matt 1982 births Living people American football linebackers New Orleans Saints players Sportspeople from Tustin, California Philadelphia Eagles players Players of American football from Orange County, California San Diego State Aztecs football players Seattle Seahawks players Tustin High School alumni Tampa Bay Buccaneers players