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), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

. He was drafted 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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

in the second round of the

2005 NFL Draft The 2005 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The NFL draft, draft was held April 23–24, 2005 NFL seaso ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

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

. McCoy has 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 league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

Early years

McCoy attended Tustin High School in

Tustin, California Tustin is a city located in Orange County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. In 2020, Tustin had a population of 80,276. The city is located next to the county seat, Santa Ana, and does not include the unincorporated community ...

. 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 research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

where he won All-

Mountain West Conference The Mountain West Conference (MW) is one of the collegiate athletic conferences affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) (formerly I-A). The MW officially began operations o ...

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 position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking u ...

(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 ...

s, three fumble recoveries, four

pass deflections In American football, a pass deflected, also known as a pass deflection, a pass defended, a pass , a pass knockdown, or a pass breakup, is an incomplete pass that is caused by a defensive player. This is done by slapping or blocking the ball with ...

, 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 and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

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

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

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 of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fifth round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He has played for the Philadelphia Ea ...

. 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. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

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

Chris Kluwe Christopher James Kluwe (; born December 24, 1981) is a former American football punter and writer. Kluwe played at Los Alamitos High School in Los Alamitos, California, where he was a 1999 USA Today All-USA high school football team, 1999 ''USA ...

. The following day, he was cut in favor of

practice squad In sports, 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. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

linebacker

Akeem Jordan Akeem Raphael Jordan (born August 17, 1985) is a former American football and Canadian football linebacker. He was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He has also played for the Kansas City Chiefs and Washington ...

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

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

Andy Reid Andrew Walter Reid (born March 19, 1958) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). Reid was previously head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles from 1999 to 2012. From 200 ...

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 the National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), or National Basketball Association (NBA). Such players have special restrictions on the terms under which they can retain ...

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 metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

on September 20. He was released by the Buccaneers on September 26 when wide receiver 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 Yamon Figurs (born January 10, 1983) is a former gridiron football wide receiver and return specialist. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Kansas State. Figurs was als ...

. 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 People 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