LeSean McCoy began his Super Bowl LV media availability by telling everyone he’s the “rabbit’s foot” after making it to the big game in back-to-back years with different teams.
But on the doorstep of his second Super Bowl ring, McCoy just wishes he could have reached that peak with the team that means the most to him.
“It’s different,” McCoy said Tuesday. “I do wish that, if I could have had a championship, I wish it would have been when I was an Eagle. I started there. It means more to me as far as my hometown being an hour away, being drafted there. A lot of my friends when I got drafted in the league are still my friends, to share that with them.”
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McCoy, 32, was drafted by the Eagles in 2009 and in his six seasons with the Birds, Shady reached three Pro Bowls, was an All-Pro twice and became the Eagles’ all-time leading rusher. The Eagles were 0-3 in the playoffs during McCoy’s Eagles career.
Even though he found success in Buffalo after Chip Kelly traded him away, McCoy was a visitor there. On Tuesday, he admitted he tried to get the Bills to trade him back to the Eagles and even during this last offseason, McCoy contemplated a return to Philadelphia.
“It was close,” he said. “My heart belongs there. It was close and they were kind of hesitant, not bringing me back but the timing. And I was like, ‘Do I wait a little bit and go back home or do I go now with the Bucs?’”
Ultimately, McCoy decided to not wait for the Eagles and joined forces with Tom Brady and others in Tampa Bay. It was the right decision for McCoy, who has a chance to pick up his second Super bowl ring. But McCoy was inactive for the big game last year and will possibly be inactive again.
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It’s clear that McCoy’s career is winding down. He was a six-time Pro Bowler from 2011-17 and was even named to the NFL’s All-Decade team for the 2010s, but running backs always seem to hit a wall. Last season, he was used sparingly by Andy Reid in Kansas City and he’s been used even less in Tampa Bay this season. In 10 games, he has just 10 carries for 31 yards and 15 catches for 101 yards. He has taken a total of three snaps this postseason.
Instead, McCoy has taken on the role of veteran leader in the Bucs’ running backs room. That’s right: LeSean McCoy, the baby-faced second-rounder from Pitt is now a veteran leader.
“I look at my career, I feel like I sacrificed so much when I was the guy and I was rolling and I didn’t get them accolades and I didn’t get the championships like I wanted to,” McCoy said. “And I feel like now, it’s paying off. You did all the hard work then, now you’re starting to receive the rewards. That’s how I really look at it.”
There’s a very real possibility that Super Bowl LV will be McCoy’s last NFL game. He said his retirement is something he thinks about and has even chatted about with 37-year-old Frank Gore.
On one hand, it’s hard to retire when you’re winning rings. On the other, if Shady gets ring No. 2 on Sunday …
“If I get two championships, with all my resume and that, it might be over,” he said. “But you never know. I think I’ll just take it every day and I’ll kind of revisit that when the time presents itself.”
McCoy hasn’t played with the Eagles since the 2014 season. It was after that year that Kelly shipped him to Buffalo for Kiko Alonso. McCoy had a few fantastic seasons for the Bills before the decline started. After Kelly was fired, it felt like there was some momentum to bring McCoy back to town and when DeSean Jackson returned in 2019, it really felt like it.
The timing just wasn’t right. The two sides were just going in opposite directions. The Eagles were wise to not bring Shady back and he was wise to join Brady in Tampa Bay.
But even after six years away from Philly, it’s still McCoy’s NFL home. He might end his career with two rings from two different teams, but neither will be the team that means most to him.
“When I retire, I would definitely want to retire as an Eagle,” McCoy said. “I’m the all-time leading franchise rusher over there. Twenty five hasn’t touched the field since I left, that jersey number. That’s always like a dream.”
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