Josh McCown

Josh McCown

McCown with the Cleveland Browns in 2016
Minnesota Vikings
Position:	Quarterbacks coach
Personal information
Born:	(1979-07-04) July 4, 1979 (age 45) Jacksonville, Texas, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:	218 lb (99 kg)
Career information
High school:	Jacksonville (TX)
College:	SMU (1998–2000) Sam Houston State (2001)
NFL draft:	2002 / Round: 3 / Pick: 81
Career history
As a player:
Arizona Cardinals (2002–2005) Detroit Lions (2006) Oakland Raiders (2007) Miami Dolphins (2008)* Carolina Panthers (2008–2009) Hartford Colonials (2010) San Francisco 49ers (2011)* Chicago Bears (2011–2013) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2014) Cleveland Browns (2015–2016) New York Jets (2017–2018) Philadelphia Eagles (2019–2020) Houston Texans (2020)
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only
As a coach:
Carolina Panthers (2023) Quarterbacks coach Minnesota Vikings (2024–present) Quarterbacks coach
Career highlights and awards
SFL Player of the Year (2001) Third-team Division I-AA All-American (2001) First-team All-SFL (2001)
Career NFL statistics
Pass completions: 1,584 Pass attempts: 2,633 Percentage: 60.2 TD–INT: 98–82 Passing yards: 17,731 Passer rating: 79.7
Player stats at PFR

Joshua Treadwell McCown (born July 4, 1979) is an American football coach and former quarterback who is the quarterbacks coach for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the SMU Mustangs and Sam Houston Bearkats, and was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the third round of the 2002 NFL draft. McCown went on to play eighteen seasons in the NFL across twelve franchises, largely serving in a backup role. He also spent a season in the United Football League (UFL).

McCown attended Jacksonville High School in Jacksonville, Texas, where he was named the East Texas Player of the Year and earned All-State honorable mention honors as a senior. He played three seasons for the SMU Mustangs of Southern Methodist University, where he passed for totals of 4,022 yards, 27 touchdowns, and 34 interceptions. He then transferred to play his final season of college football for the Sam Houston State Bearkats of Sam Houston State University. In his only season with the Bearkats, he threw for 3,481 yards, 32 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, earning Southland Football League Player of the Year and Third-team Division I-AA All-American honors.

McCown was then selected by the Cardinals in the third round of the 2002 NFL draft and played for the team from 2002 to 2005. He was mainly the backup quarterback during his tenure with the Cardinals but was the team's primary starter in 2004. He was a backup with the Detroit Lions in 2006 and was traded to the Oakland Raiders in 2007, where he started nine games. McCown then signed with the Miami Dolphins in 2008, but was traded to the Carolina Panthers before the start of the 2008 regular season. He was a backup with the Panthers from 2008 to 2009. He then played for the Hartford Colonials of the UFL in 2010, followed by a short off-season stint with the San Francisco 49ers in 2011. McCown was then a backup with the Chicago Bears from 2011 to 2013. In eight games, and five starts, in 2013, he threw for 1,829 yards, 13 touchdowns, and one interception, garnering the third-best passer rating in the NFL. He then signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he was the team's primary starter in 2014. However, after underperforming, McCown was released by the team and signed by the Cleveland Browns. He was the primary starter for the Browns in 2015 and a backup for the Browns in 2016. He was released by the Browns after the 2016 season and then signed with the New York Jets. He was the primary starter for the Jets in 2017 and set single-season career highs with 267 completions, a 67.3 completion percentage, 2,926 passing yards, 18 passing touchdowns and 5 rushing touchdowns. After serving as a backup for the Jets in 2018, McCown retired from the NFL and briefly joined ESPN as an NFL analyst. However, he came out of retirement to sign with the Philadelphia Eagles in August 2019, serving as a backup during the 2019 season. In the Wild Card Round of the 2019–20 NFL playoffs, McCown replaced an injured Carson Wentz and played the majority of the game at the age of 40, becoming the oldest quarterback in NFL history to make his postseason debut. In November 2020, he was signed off of the Eagles' practice squad by the Houston Texans; his last NFL team.

In 2023, McCown was hired by the Panthers to be their quarterbacks coach under head coach Frank Reich. McCown was fired by the Panthers after a 1–10 start to the season. He became the Vikings' quarterbacks coach in 2024.