Gerald McCoy is a former NFL defensive tackle who made six consecutive Pro Bowls over a 13-season career, most of it with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Gerald joins Adam to share his unique journey – from an overweight, asthmatic kid in Oklahoma City to one of the NFL’s most decorated defensive linemen and now a national sports broadcaster – and his best lessons and advice. Gerald and Adam discuss a wide range of topics: work ethic, leadership, authenticity, mentorship, and much more.
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Read the full transcript of Adam’s conversation with Gerald McCoy.
Episode Summary
Gerald McCoy, a six-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle, was an overweight kid with asthma who says he used to cry running to touch the fence at the start of practice. When he was around 15, his father asked whether he wanted to play college football and then told him, “Colleges don’t want fat kids.” Gerald says that line is the reason he still works out today. That summer he lost 30 to 50 pounds, running and sprinting in trash bags and hoodies. Growing up on the South Side of Oklahoma City, he says he knew kids from where he came from did not usually make it out, so he had to find a way to separate himself from everyone else.
Working hard is not enough, Gerald argues, because everyone in a group workout is working hard. After training in San Diego with Todd Durkin and still showing up to camp tired, he realized he wears a helmet and shoulder pads when he plays, so he started training in them. In the NFL, he researched opponents as people, asking whether it was a contract year, how long they had played, and whether they had a wife and kids, and he tried to win the rep before the rep by studying formations and personnel.
Gerald says the difference between winning and losing cultures came down to everyone being on one accord. At Oklahoma, that was work ethic and preparation, and in the NFL he found the unity was nothing like college, since the roster that starts the offseason is not the one that plays in week 17. As a leader, he followed a strength coach’s rule, Dave Kennedy telling him he was not allowed to have a bad day, and the idea that you have to serve before you lead. He skipped rookie duties, carried teammates’ pads himself, and had one rule for rookies: mandatory extra work, either before or after practice.
Gerald says a leader never knows who is watching. After a game his team lost, his father told him about a man who had asked a friend to bring him to the game to see whether Gerald was as genuine in person as people said. Watching Gerald keep smiling, hugging people, and signing autographs after the loss, the man, who had been in crisis that morning, told his friend it showed him there was something bigger out there for him. Gerald says that is why leaders have to show up as who they have been called to be, win or lose.
What You’ll Learn
- On NFL GameDay Morning, Gerald’s rule was no low-hanging fruit: he let co-workers take the easy answers so he had to think outside the box.
- Gerald’s why starts with God and extends to the McCoy name, Oklahoma City, and his family, and he says remembering it is how you push through losing.
- Gerald cites a Kobe Bryant idea, doing what you do at such a level that it motivates others to be great at what they do, as a reason to give full effort before the game.
- Know who you are before you try to separate yourself: not everyone is built to lead, Gerald says, but anyone can be an elite follower.
- Gerald and his wife keep their circle very small, because being genuine is hard to find and you never know who is really being real.
- Being openly yourself gives others permission to do the same: a young defensive lineman told Gerald that watching him dominate on the field while embracing being a nerd gave him the confidence to stop hiding his own love of comics and anime.
About Gerald McCoy
Gerald McCoy is a former NFL defensive tackle who was selected to six consecutive Pro Bowls and was a three-time All-Pro. He grew up on the South Side of Oklahoma City, attended Southeast High School, and was recruited by top college programs before choosing to stay home and play for Oklahoma. In the NFL, he played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and later the Carolina Panthers and the Las Vegas Raiders. Gerald now works in media, including on NFL GameDay Morning and the show Arena Gridiron.
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For more on coaching and culture, Dick discusses leadership, motivation, and performing under pressure, including leading the Rams to a Super Bowl championship.
