LeSean McCoy Wasn’t Just An Elusive Back; He Was One of the Eagles’ Best Ever.
Two years after the Eagles hoisted the Lombardi Trophy in 2018, the Kansas City Chiefs found themselves up on the San Francisco 49ers 24–20 deep in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl LIV. With 1:12 left in the game, Chiefs running back Damien Williams took a handoff around the edge and ran 38 yards for a touchdown.
Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid — once the grand architect of an Eagles resurgence to prominence — was finally about to get a championship ring as Head Coach. Slowly, the sea of red apparel on the Chiefs’ sideline began to break into celebration as the reality of the impending victory set in. The national media camera then panned to running back LeSean McCoy standing behind Reid.
Reid drafted McCoy when he was the Eagles’ head coach in 2009, adding him to a string of great, elusive Eagles runners like Steve Van Buren, Wilbert Montgomery, and Brian Westbrook. Unlike the other names on that list, McCoy was never close to winning a Championship with the Eagles.
We’ll never know if the incredible combination of speed between Michael Vick, LeSean McCoy, and DeSean Jackson could have won a Super Bowl. One by one, the Eagles’ Head Coach traded each of those incredible athletic talents away for what he perceived as insubordination to his authoritarian-like control over the Novacare Kingdom. Whether or not three of the most dynamic offense players in the NFL could have hoisted a Lombardi Trophy on Broad Street — we’ll never know.
On Sunday, November 3rd — the Eagles will induct Shady McCoy — the team’s all-time leading rush with 6,792 yards — into the team’s Hall of Fame.
We do know that McCoy wasn’t just an Eagles great; he was an NFL great. Drafted in 2009 outside of the University of Pittsburgh — McCoy was a sensation with the Eagles. In just two seasons at Pitt, McCoy had rushed for over 2,800 yards and added almost 600 receiving. Under Chip Kelly’s fast-paced offense in 2013 and 2014 — he ran for nearly 3,000 yards. In four seasons with Buffalo — he would rush for almost 4,000.
In 2019, with Kansas City — McCoy didn’t set an NFL rushing record. In the Super Bowl, he didn’t take the game over with 200 yards and five touchdowns. He provided a versatile addition to the Chiefs’ rushing attack that would bring them to this point — a 31–20 lead and 1:12 away from football’s highest annual achievement.
One year later, in February of 2021 — LeSean McCoy was on another sideline — as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl LV. Staring across the field at his former Head Coach Andy Reid — with 1:33 left, the Tampa Bay defense intercepted Patrick Mahomes to seal the 31–9 win.
Among Tom Brady’s hugs as the hats were handed out was one for Shady McCoy. When McCoy joins the Eagles Hall of Fame on November 3rd, he’ll do so as a Super Bowl Champion.
He should have been one with the Eagles.
PHOTO: Philadelphia Eagles/Facebook
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