We all know veteran Josh McCown has joined the Jets' quarterback picture with young signalcallers Bryce Petty and Christian Hackenberg. But we haven't heard much from Josh himself — until today, when he stopped after his workout to conduct a conference call with Jets media. Here are six answers McCown provided to questions from the reporters:
On how he became a Jet...After he visited with the Cowboys and talked with several other teams, McCown said new Jets QBs coach Jeremy Bates reached out to him. "Obviously we had a previous history in Chicago, having worked together," McCown said. "So he talked me through what they were looking for and ... what he felt they were going to do offensively. As we talked through it and examined it, it made sense to come take a visit. We got to meet Coach Bowles and some of the staff and see the facility. It checked a lot of boxes and made sense for the situation we were looking for. So that's what really led me to become a Jet and I'm excited about being here."
On if the Jets see him as "the guy" or one of three in a competition..."It's a full competition between the three of us. All three of us will approach it as trying to be 'the guy,' and I think that's good for our team, healthy for our team, to compete as hard as we can. So that'll be our mindset and Coach will determine at the end of the day who the starter is and we'll support one another accordingly after the decision is made."
On if he'll be handing off the starter's job at some point even should he win the job on day one...McCown said his mindset is that whoever wins the job, that job is his. However...
"Absolutely I think that's the goal, and I hope that's Hack's goal and Bryce's goal as well, to go in and compete and win the job, and if it changes, it changes. My goal is to come in and learn this offense, do everything we can to master it this spring and training camp, and if that's the case and I'm the guy, then play the position as well as I can until that changes. And obviously as a competitor you don't expect that change and you don't want that change because you, I plan to go out and play well."
On balancing competing for the job with mentoring his younger competitors...McCown had an interesting view of the mentoring role that he's developed from his upbringing as well as from his playing days for seven different NFL teams in his 14-year career plus one year sitting out and coaching high school.
"I look forward to every day coming in here and working w Bryce and Hack and trying to give away the things I've learned in my career and hopefully make their journeys better as they go throughout their careers. That's something I believe as a person, not just inside of football but in every walk of life. If you can give something away that you know can make somebody else's journey better, I think you're going to have a deeper sense of peace. ... Ultimately I feel like it helps me be a better player and then it will help Hack and Bryce. And then as we compete, if they're at their best and they're pushing me to be at my best, it hopefully makes our room better."
On working with a mostly young wide receiving corps..."There is some ease to it because they're all still learning, still pliable to a degree. ... What I love about the group is just the energy. Although Deck [Eric Decker] is a veteran guy who's got a great attitude, and Quincy [Enunwa] the same thing, they're coming in, working hard, and it's fun because if you need some extra work, it's 'Hey, let's work this route, that route.' That energy is good as you try to build something, especially with young quarterbacks. These young receivers that are hungry will work for you. It's been fun these first 2½ weeks."
On what new coordinator John Morton's offense will look like..."I like the stuff we're doing, the terminology. I don't want to get into the detail of it because we have opponents coming up in the fall and things we don't want to give away. But suffice to say that we're doing a good job installing and teaching things. ... The concepts and the things we're going to are things I've had success with in the past. ... So without giving away the game plan and all that, I'm excited about what we're doing and how it's being taught. We have good teachers."
