SAN DIEGO – Head coach Mike McCoy empathizes with the players he had to let go from the Chargers organization today.
“The decisions aren’t always easy,” McCoy said.
Speaking at a press conference on Friday, he said he’s been cut a number of times himself as a player “way back when.” It’s never easy, he added.
“It’s not a fair business, I’ll say that,” said McCoy. “Things happen in this business. There’s all sorts of things that come into play here. Roster spots, they aren’t easy to come by.”
McCoy added that he was proud of the football team for doing everything they asked of the players and that he thought it was a very productive offseason.
“And now it’s at the tough time of the business for us as coaches and as an organization, the personnel department, everything, of making some very tough decisions moving forward of who the best 53 are for the football team,” he said.
By the NFL-imposed 1 p.m. deadline Saturday, those players who wouldn’t be a part of the Chargers campaign this year left Chargers Park with the hopes of finding another team to play for.
McCoy said that a lot of guys can leave the team’s facility holding their heads up.
With the regular season nearing, the Chargers will again face the Cardinals in Arizona, Sept. 8, which they wrapped up the preseason with a 12-9 win against on Thursday.
Until then, McCoy said they’ve got extra time to study film and let guys take a deep breath and rest their bodies.
“It’s a long season, and this is the first week and we’re going to take it one week at a time, put great plans together as a staff, and have a great week of practice as a player and an organization, and just take it one week at a time,” McCoy said.
Dwight Freeney, looking to return to the playing field after a knee injury took him out midway through last season, watching from the sidelines, said he didn’t think, from a preparation standpoint, there wasn’t anything to gain from the preseason game. “They’re (Cardinals) no dummies,” he said.
They ran a basic plan, so did we, he added.
As with every season, the Chargers will have some rookies to start the season. But McCoy said there won’t be much leeway when it comes to their play.
“There are going to be some young players playing, we understand that, but they’ve got a job to do,” McCoy said. “Veterans will make mistakes also, but we set a standard here on how we want to play.”
McCoy said there are 52 other teammates a player is accountable to.
“It’s not a matter of leeway. It’s a matter of doing your job, so if they don’t know what to do, it’s the coach’s job to coach them the right way, and if they’re not ready to play, don’t play ‘em,” he said.
The Chargers will host the Seattle Seahawks to a sold out Qualcomm Stadium for their home opener Sept. 14.
The players cut on Saturday include:
LB Victor Aiyewa
DT Chas Alecxih
WR Torrence Allen
WR Vincent Brown*
CB Crezdon Butler
S Alden Darby
CB Greg Ducre
TE Mike Flacco
T Mike Harris
WR Javontee Herndon
LB Thomas Keiser
DE Joe Kruger
LB Cordarro Law
S Adrian Phillips
WR Tevin Reese
T Jeremiah Sirles
QB Brad Sorensen
LB Colton Underwood
G Craig Watts
G-T Kenny Wiggins
C-G Khalil Wilkes
DE Doug Worthington
* If Brown clears waivers, he will be placed on the team’s “Reserve-Injured” list with a calf injury.
