CHARLOTTE – The Panthers continued building their staff Friday with the addition of Josh McCown, who agreed to terms to become quarterbacks coach under head coach Frank Reich.
McCown, 43, was a journeyman quarterback in the NFL from 2002-20, playing for 12 teams. This season, he'll be taking on his first coaching role with the Panthers.
Here are five fast facts to know about McCown:
1. Past coaching interest: McCown was offered a role on the Eagles' coaching staff after playing the 2019 season in a backup role for Carson Wentz. McCown's stint in Philadelphia included his postseason debut in a playoff loss to the Seahawks after Wentz went down with an injury.
McCown declined the Eagles' offer to join the staff to continue playing and signed to their practice squad for 2020.
Later that season, McCown signed with the Texans.
He interviewed for Houston's head coaching position ahead of the 2021 and 2022 seasons, but the Texans went with David Culley and Lovie Smith instead.
2. A long NFL career: McCown's lengthy professional career began with a third-round selection by the Cardinals in the 2002 NFL Draft, playing with them for four seasons.
He also had stops with Detroit (2006), Oakland (2007), Miami (2008), Carolina (2008-09), San Francisco (2011), Chicago (2011-13), Tampa Bay (2014), Cleveland (2015-16), the New York Jets (2017-18), Philadelphia (2019-20), and Houston (2020).
Between NFL stints, McCown played for the United Football League's Hartford Colonials in 2010.
He passed for 17,731 yards in his NFL career with 98 touchdowns and 82 interceptions, a 60.2 completion percentage, and a 79.7 passer rating.
3. Panthers connection: McCown spent two seasons with the Panthers from 2008-09 under head coach John Fox.
He served as Jake Delhomme's backup throughout 2008 and played in two games.
McCown was named Delhomme's backup again for the 2009 season, beating out Matt Moore for the spot, and came in for Delhomme in the second half of Carolina's Week 1 game against the Eagles after Delhomme caused five turnovers.
McCown sprained his left knee and left foot on the same play in the fourth quarter of an eventual loss and ended up on injured reserve the next day, ending his season.
After the season, he became a free agent and went on to the UFL for a year before returning to the NFL with the Bears in 2011. He recorded his best NFL season in 2013 with Chicago, appearing in eight games for an injured Jay Cutler and completing 67 percent of his passes.
4. Overlap with Sam Darnold: During his time with the Jets, McCown competed with a then-rookie Darnold for the quarterback position in 2018 after starting in 13 games for New York in 2017. He served as Darnold's backup throughout 2018, coming in for three games while Darnold recovered from a right foot injury. Darnold returned in Week 14 of the season and assumed duties for the rest of the season.
5. Stint with ESPN: McCown briefly retired from the NFL after the 2018 season and joined ESPN as a studio analyst, appearing on NFL Live, among other programs.
He returned to the league in August 2019, signing with Philadelphia after backup quarterbacks Nate Sudfeld and Cody Kessler were injured.
