Having spent nine seasons with the Bucs and playing 11 in total, Gerald McCoy’s play did enough talking. McCoy garnered six consecutive Pro Bowl nods from 2012-2017. Using a historical reference, this timespan for the team was in the midst of their dark ages. During his whole career in Tampa Bay, he did not get to experience the playoffs.

He was caught between the Super Bowl teams of 2002 and 2020. The team’s contention window was long closed, and the days of its dominant defense headed by Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, Ronde Barber, and John Lynch were gone. McCoy would only play with an aging Barber for three seasons. During these tough times, he and linebacker Lavonte David were the best players on defense and arguably on the roster.

Lining up at defensive tackle, he racked up 54.5 sacks as a Buccaneer and is credited with 297 total tackles, 86 tackles for loss, and 140 quarterback hits. Notwithstanding his one-season cameo with the Panthers (and one game with the Raiders), McCoy’s dominance on the field was solely in red and pewter.

Appearing on the “Green Light with Chris Long” podcast with Long and former Bucs teammate Beau Allen, Gerald McCoy had plenty to say about how he grew up as a fan of the Bucs, his time with the team, a potential return last season, as well as what he did during the Bucs Super Bowl win in 2020 and the fallout he had with legendary Bucs defensive tackle Warren Sapp.

Gerald McCoy Wanted To Return To The Bucs Last Season

Starting off on the show, Gerald McCoy commented on what led to his recent retirement. After two seasons of season-ending injuries with the Cowboys and Raiders, he mentioned that “injuries are what stopped me, not me not being good enough.” It was not for him not attempting to return, which is something that he still held on the hope of materializing last season. Asked what team he would have joined if everything lined up, the Bucs were his number one choice.

Former Bucs DT Gerald McCoy – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“Honestly, it was just the Bucs,” McCoy said. “I always wanted to go back to the Bucs – just because I grew up a fan of the Bucs, they drafted me, and I have familiarity with them. This is going to sound crazy but the other team was Kansas City. Not because it was Kansas City but Joe Cullen, the defensive line coach I was closest to [in Tampa Bay], he coached there. I wanted to go somewhere with familiarity. [Rod] Marinelli had retired, so Joe Cullen was really the only coach still coaching that I was closest to. I would love to go there to play under Joe. Even if I don’t play, just to sit in Joe’s meetings and be a mentor.

“I even told Tampa, “Hey, listen, I don’t have to play. I want to be a mentor because y’all are doing a lot wrong up front. Y’all have talent, and y’all are not rushing together. Guys are not getting on edges; they just run down the middle of people.’ I saw a lot of things I could help with. Just teaching guys, this is how you rush together. Even if I’m on the practice squad, I’m still sitting in the meetings. It didn’t happen, and it was okay. I just helped from afar, texting guys here and there. ‘Hey, try this, do this, this, and this.’ Really, it was Tampa, I still got a house there.”

It is hard to argue with McCoy’s assessment of the team last season. While the Bucs mustered up 44 sacks, it was clear that the unit did not reach its potential. The leading sack leader was nose tackle Vita Vea at 6.5, followed by inside linebacker Devin White and rotational rusher Anthony Nelson with 5.5 apiece.

It was not just the Bucs pass rush either. The team failed to stop the run unless Vea and Akiem Hicks were both healthy and in the lineup together, and there were times upfront that the unit failed to be cohesive in game-planning against opposing offenses and finishing plays.

Gerald McCoy Talks About Watching The Bucs’ 2020 Super Bowl Win

While the Bucs did not go on a magical playoff run last season, the team did so in 2020. McCoy did not initially believe they could pull it off, and he shared an interesting story about how he watched and was a part of it from afar.

“At first, when they played Green Bay – and this is God’s honest truth – I didn’t have them beating Green Bay,” McCoy said. “I just didn’t. You’re going to the frozen tundra, playing Green Bay, and they’re hot as heck [at the time].”

You know just how hot the team was when rapper Lil Wayne did a remake of his “Green and Yellow” theme song, as the Packers looked prime for a Super Bowl appearance. Unlike the 2011 season where the Packers won the Super Bowl, the team was not able to “go all the way to Tampa.”

Instead, the Bucs went into Lambeau Field and emerged victorious.

“I didn’t see them going up to Green Bay, beating them,” McCoy said. “And then in the second half when Tom [Brady] was throwing those interceptions, I’m like, ‘This is not going to happen.’ But when they beat Green Bay – this is documented in all the interviews after that – I said Tampa’s going to win by double digits in the Super Bowl. I prepared mentally for Tampa winning the Super Bowl prior to, so as it’s happening… I’m actually working out. I’m still rehabbing my knee, I have a Peloton in my room, I’m on my Peloton watching the game cycling away – I’m doing bands, push-ups, core, all this stuff – while I’m watching the game. I’m really, in the back of my mind thinking, ‘My boys are really about to win the Super Bowl.’

Bucs LB Lavonte David and DT Gerald McCoy – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“It was more surreal for me because I’ve seen dark days in Tampa. To see them literally being the best team in the NFL at that point, ‘They really are winning the Super Bowl!’ and it was happening at home. I asked, ‘Hey, if you guys win, please FaceTime me.’ I needed to see somebody who has been there with me – that has seen those dark times – I’m talking about, we had the MRSA situation, guys feet falling off, getting sued, it was bad. I face-timed [Lavonte David] and he waited [until] the locker room was empty; it was just him in there. I was like, ‘Bro, I missed the whole celebration!’ He was in there just like, ‘G, I can’t believe it.'”

Unfortunately for McCoy, he was not able to experience the high of winning the Super Bowl on the field at Raymond James Stadium or even playing in the playoffs during his career. While he watched his former teammates win it as a spectator, there is no doubt he wanted to be on the field. In this regard, he was dealt a bad hand by being caught between the two eras that have defined Buccaneer football the most.

If one were not following the Bucs, it may be easy to forget his impact on the field. He was, in fact, one of the best at his position during his playing career and a franchise player for the Bucs making six consecutive Pro Bowls. Bridging the gap was a sacrifice, but one he was willing to “take the bullets” for, as he mentioned on the podcast.

So, shouldn’t he be regarded with more favor for his career and what he was able to accomplish? While Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds discussed his potential Ring of Honor candidacy last month, McCoy has felt disrespected by the franchise and one former player in particular, Warren Sapp. McCoy talked about that on the podcast, and you can read his comments here.