Gerald McCoy And The Hall Of Fame
May 25th, 2026
Hall of Fame chatter from NFL.com.
This might be a stretch.
Look, Joe knows for whatever reasons a good number of Bucs fans hated Gerald McCoy, which Joe thought was terribly unfair.
Some wanted GMC to be Warren Sapp. GMC was never, ever going to be Warren Sapp, not on the field, not off the field. The two have polar opposite personalities.
Many of those hater fans thought it unmanly the way GMC enjoys superhero movies and collects superhero gear. Everyone has hobbies. “This Joe” plays the stock market for a hobby. Some fish. Some golf. Some go scuba diving. Some hunt wild hogs and deer.
GMC collected superhero gear, especially Batman. Nothing illegal or distasteful in that, but it sure irked a lot of fans.
Joe brings all of this up because Eric Edholm of NFL.com had a fun piece in which he tried to guess the next Hall of Famer representing each team.
Simeon Rice immediately came to mind for Joe. Then, Mike Evans and Lavonte David.
Edholm thinks it should be GMC.
Gerald McCoy, defensive tackle
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2010-2018), Carolina Panthers (2019), Las Vegas Raiders (2021)McCoy is a legitimate Hall candidate, even if it might be tough getting in his first or second year given how stacked those fields could be. His six Pro Bowls and dominant stretch for the Bucs in the 2010s make McCoy a solid — though hardly guaranteed — HOF possibility, even if he arguably never reached the same peaks that, say, Warren Sapp did in Tampa. The question is whether McCoy can get in prior to the recently retired Lavonte David (eligible in 2031) or the still-active Mike Evans.
A few things are hurting GMC, based on how Hall of Fame voters think.
When GMC played for the Bucs, only twice did the Bucs have a winning record. Once was his rookie season (2010).
Also, GMC (like David) played on some horrific defenses. Now that isn’t GMC’s fault. He was only one man. But Hall of Fame voters will want to know how GMC is Hall-worthy when many of the defenses he played on were so bad that they still make dogs howl at the moon.
Hall of Fame voters tend to look at how a player elevates teammates around him. Despite GMC being a six-time Pro Bowler (impressive), that didn’t rub off on most of his defensive teammates.
Another hurdle GMC would have to overcome would be two years after the Bucs cut ties with him; the guy who replaced him won a Super Bowl with the Bucs, Ndamukong Suh. Voters like championship impact.
Does Joe think GMC was a good player? Absolutely. Does Joe think GMC ought to be in the Bucs’ Ring of Honor? Someday, sure. The fact James Wilder is not in the Ring of Honor is borderline criminal — and that cheapens the honor for others quite frankly.( The Joe not typing here would not put McCoy in the Ring of Honor).
Six Pro Bowls is damn impressive for GMC.
But GMC in the Pro Football Hall of Fame? Ira Kaufman might have to work magic tricks to get that done.
May 25th, 2026 at 9:09 am
Sorry, I like Gerald but, not even close.
May 25th, 2026 at 9:12 am
This is exactly why the Hall of Fame has become somewhat of a joke! Rice not in the Hall because he took an unpopular position on a teammate, let’s keep it real! The hall should be based on an individual accomplishments how his team performed in his tenure should not matter! A lot of great players get stuck on lousy teams that should sway the voters even more to those guys who overcome those situations.
May 25th, 2026 at 9:12 am
🍦
May 25th, 2026 at 9:19 am
Yes Eric, you are correct.
And I reiterate my earlier post.
May 25th, 2026 at 9:27 am
Should McCoy be in the HOF. Absolutly. When you stand out the way he did on a team and defense known throughout the league to be pitiful, you are special. McCoy did just that as a Buc fan , on many game days he was the only guy showing up and the guy you watched the most. I think the fact that he stood out on a bad team, in many ways tells you he was truly special. Players on good teams have other players who help them. On bad teams like the Bucs, their was litte help.
As far as Rice I watched him singl handedly change quite a few games for the Bucs. He clearly belongs. With that said having Sapp, Brooks, Lynch, Barber and others speak loudly to the aformentioned.
May 25th, 2026 at 9:29 am
Oh boy, there is going to be 150+ omments here on this article. Should be QUITE entertaining…lol
May 25th, 2026 at 9:42 am
Scotty, you are correct. Only problem is half of the people commenting never even saw GMC play. I wonder how good he could have been on better teams?
May 25th, 2026 at 9:47 am
I remember watching Simeon Rice and predicting when he was going to have one of his many strip-sacks. I remember watching GMC and predicting when he would help an opposing player off the ground while smiling and down by 3 scores.
May 25th, 2026 at 9:48 am
They never gave him any help. Really irked people that he would occasionally help up opponents after knocking them down or buying the team ice cream. Don’t think it was the affection for Batman. Really liked him as a person and player. ROH yes. Hall of Fame not likely though.
May 25th, 2026 at 9:49 am
Sorry Charlie…
Not to diminish his accomplishments and career but….
May 25th, 2026 at 9:49 am
Was however, so mad when Detroit took Suh ahead of us by one by one pick.
May 25th, 2026 at 9:57 am
Not even close. He didnt even play in a playoff game or make all-pro or lead the league in sacks at anytime. Nah
May 25th, 2026 at 10:06 am
McCoy will never make the HOF because he played on a lousy team. I feel sorry for him because he was the only decent player on the D Line and never got any help in the trenches.
May 25th, 2026 at 10:13 am
GMC was a good, not great player. No to either the ROH or HOF.
May 25th, 2026 at 10:18 am
Dear God, he bought his teammates ice cream after practice. Break out the electric chair. Pretty sure Ronde Barber and/or Lavonte David wanted to punch him for the offense. smh
There are reasons to question GMC. Joe touched on a couple. But buying guys ice cream after practice??? Anyone who gives a player crap for that needs help.
May 25th, 2026 at 10:25 am
All-Pro in 2013.
May 25th, 2026 at 10:30 am
Hard No for McCoy
Hard No for David
Soft No for Evans (definitely not first ballot without a first team all
Pro)
May 25th, 2026 at 10:43 am
Let’s put Cadillac Williams Joe Tryon Michael Clayton Ronald Jones & Donovan Smith in the HOF then, too!
May 25th, 2026 at 10:48 am
Our culture is still suffering from his “fun” philosophy.
One of the best moves that Arian made was replacing GMC with Suh.
Suh, JPP and Gholston were violent and angry men.
GMC was really good at sidestepping guards to get in the backfield and miss tackles.
JPP saw who he was in year 1.
I love GMC as a human being. He’s a great man.
But as a defender in the trenches?
He was too nice and too soft.
Suh, Gholston and JPP are the ideal D-linemen for the Bucs.
Vea is great. But needs guys like Suh and Gholston next to him.
Not guys like Gaines and sideshow Hall.
May 25th, 2026 at 10:49 am
Hall Talent !! Not a Hall Player !!
exactly the reason Arian‘s brought in Suh and won a Super Bowl !!
May 25th, 2026 at 10:56 am
GMC was talented, played with heart, led our Bucs as best as he could, as honorably as he could. I’m a fan. Love the guy.
Hof? I don’t think so
May 25th, 2026 at 11:09 am
GMC didn’t do enough for the Hall of Fame, but he should one day be in the Ring of Honor. His greatest sin as a player is that he wasn’t Warren Sapp.
May 25th, 2026 at 11:22 am
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂….. you get the message .
May 25th, 2026 at 11:28 am
McCoy was good – but not great.
At no point in his career was Gerald a “dominant” player.
In fact – you would be hard pressed to name even one time in 9 years where McCoy made a “game changing” play.
He had a fast ‘get off’ (which was his only ‘elite’ quality) that rarely amounted to anything more than a handful of sacks per year.
Dude never once had double digit sacks in a season and was somewhat of a liability vs the run game…..
How in the world is that HOF worthy???? It’s not!
Simeon Rice on the other hand was a dominant game wrecker who starred in a Super Bowl victory with 2 sacks and a forced fumble – also had double digit sacks in 8 different seasons including 5 straight years with the Buccaneers – and Simeon can’t even get into the discussion – which is BS!
May 25th, 2026 at 11:59 am
Good player not a great player not even ring of honor player
May 25th, 2026 at 12:06 pm
No and no. No HOF and no ROH.
May 25th, 2026 at 12:28 pm
Definitely not HOF, but Definitely HOGG. Hall of good guys. I bet many players wish they could have the career in football and broadcasting that he has made for himself because he is a good guy. Guys like Sapp and Suh are great football players but after football?? Not much. Personally I enjoy watching him on NFL network being a complete Bucs homer.
May 25th, 2026 at 12:34 pm
THE HALL is for the ELITE!! Gerald was not ELITE in any meaning of the word.
May 25th, 2026 at 1:10 pm
Nope soft as ice cream was a good player but not a great player. Dont even think he should be in the ring of honor.
May 25th, 2026 at 1:33 pm
Alstott had 6 Pro Bowls and a couple of All Pro seasons if I’m remembering correctly. Apparently that doesn’t matter to the JHoF (J= joke).
If McCoy gets in before Rice, that’s further proof the HoF is irrevocably corrupt and broken beyond repair.
May 25th, 2026 at 1:37 pm
Honestly gmc was a phenomenal player for us had he not played on such abysmal teams here he’d likely have. A ring and be a lock for a gold jacket. The tragedy of it all is fans here crap all over him for his time here where he tried to stick it out and make a difference.
May 25th, 2026 at 2:35 pm
Pickgrin, Rice was a DE. McCoy was a DT. You really can’t compare the positions. Your other points are fair. HoF DTs typically have a few years in their career where they have double digit sacks and McCoy had none.
People who are saying he shouldn’t be in the Ring of Honor are out of their minds. McCoy had 3 All-Pro selections and 6 Pro Bowl selections. There are players in the Bucs RoH that have less accomplishments.