Josh McCown: Brothers In Arms

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http://www.miamidolphins.com/newsite/news/top_story.asp?contentID=5722

Josh McCown: Brothers In Arms

March 28, 2008
   
By Andy Kent
Special for MiamiDolphins.com

Tracing the career path of recently signed Dolphins quarterback Josh McCown can be a little complicated, but the 28-year-old Texan holds strong to his beliefs that there was a reason behind every move he has made since high school. And being one of three quarterbacking brothers lends some validity to his theory.

Miami is McCown's fourth stop on a ride that is headed into its seventh season and third in as many years, so he is dead set on making it his last. Brought in primarily to compete with 2007 second-round draft pick John Beck for the starting job under first-year Head Coach Tony Sparano, McCown plans to lean on his past experiences with the Arizona Cardinals (2002-05), Detroit Lions (2006) and Oakland Raiders (2007) for motivation and reinvention.

"I've learned a lot of football and I think it's pushed me mentally to be a quick learner," said McCown, who completed 111-of-190 passes for 1,151 yards, 10 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in nine games last season for the Raiders. "There are some little nuances and tricks that I've developed in my head to help me learn things because I've had to do it so much. I look at this as an opportunity to compete and become a starter, and for me and my family to stay somewhere and not to move again.

"I could have settled for being a backup somewhere a long time ago and just said, 'Hey, give me a five-year contract and I'll stay here.' But for me it's chasing what is a dream and what I feel I can do, which is to compete and be a starter."

McCown's younger brother, Luke, is not at all surprised with Josh's approach and his refusal to settle for second place. As kids the two, along with oldest brother Randy, were taught an incredibly hard work ethic by their father, Pat, who ran a sawmill back in East Texas. Luke is entering his fifth year in the league but has only been active for two – 2004 with the Cleveland Browns and 2007 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Now that Josh and his family are a lot closer in distance, about a four-hour drive compared to 3,000 miles, the two brothers are forging an even closer relationship than they already had. Luke likes to describe his development as a quarterback as one of the best experiences any young player could have because he got to practice against Josh and Randy, labeled by many as the two best quarterbacks to come out of East Texas.

"I got to talk with them about how to go through the recruiting process in high school and how to decide on what college to attend," Luke, who played at Louisiana Tech, said. "All our lives have been built largely around this game that we love to play, so to have them go before me has been a real blessing. Josh and I try to talk each other at least once a week during the season and that is a nice luxury to have."

Last season in Oakland was Josh McCown's most challenging as he had to deal with debilitating injuries for the first time in his career, injuries to his feet and a broken finger that kept him out of the lineup for nearly half of 2007. Former Dolphins quarterback Daunte Culpepper was his backup and he also tutored Oakland's No. 1 overall pick in 2007, JaMarcus Russell.

McCown isn't averse to working with Beck and the other two quarterbacks currently on the roster, Casey Bramlet and Matt Baker, being as he has more experience than all three combined. But his competitive instinct is something he insists will never wane, admitting he won't share all of his trade secrets while at the same time be very supportive of whoever's in the game.

Both brothers quickly pointed to their high school football coach, Matt Turner, as the most influential person in their football careers. Turner, who now coaches at Gilmore High about an hour away from Jacksonville, also coached Randy, who went on to play at Texas A&M, and stays in touch with all three brothers.

"He's just one of the most amazing, fantastic men that I've ever known as far as a person," said Josh, who played three years at SMU and then transferred to Division II Sam Houston State his senior year and wound up setting a school record for passing yards in a single season with 3,481. "As a quarterback coach, he's just everything that you're looking for as far as the way you coach anything, because he coaches the first guy the same way he coaches the last guy. He never misses a detail and I've benefited throughout my career at all levels after being coached by Coach Turner."

Now McCown will be learning under Coach Sparano, Offensive Coordinator Dan Henning and Quarterbacks Coach David Lee, and having bought a home in South Florida, he is ready to begin his career as a Dolphin. He had to change his jersey number from 12 to 4 because Hall-of-Fame quarterback Bob Griese's No. 12 has been retired by the team.

McCown is comfortable with commanding respect inside his huddle and said he is not afraid to get in the face of a teammate and yell in order to get a player's attention. He also likes to lead by example and show his teammates that he's willing to lay it on the line for them during the game, which is something he hopes to convey to Dol-fans.

"You can't just be a leader who just talks because they have a phrase for that and those are called cheerleaders," McCown said. "So for me, you always have to play well, be prepared and do all the things that it takes to make sure you can do your job. I try to play as hard as I can and that's my thing to the fans, is I'm going to do everything I can every week to make sure I'm as prepared as possible. I'm not going to leave anything out on the field."

Although the 2008 schedule has not come out, the likelihood of the two McCown brothers meeting in the preseason is a good one as the Bucs and Dolphins have played exhibition games against each other on a regular basis in recent years. Besides planning to spend some weekends together over the remainder of the offseason and attend their annual summer quarterback camp back in East Texas, the McCowns are enjoying the idea of looking across the sideline at each other should Tampa Bay and Miami square off in the preseason.

And they hope that nobody gets them mixed up anymore either with each other or with former UCLA and Chicago Bears quarterback Cade McNown.

"When I first got in the league everybody knew that I had a brother, they just didn't know whether it was Josh McCown or Cade McNown," Luke said. "So a lot of times I'd get questions about how my brother likes Chicago or they'd ask about Sam Houston State and I'd tell them to read the back of my jersey and look at the spelling of my last name, or if it was about Sam Houston State I'd tell them to go ask my brother."

If Josh's and Luke's visions come to fruition, there will be no more confusion.