Erik McCoy, Jordan Davis on Saints Podcast | September 4, 2024 | New Orleans Saints Podcast

welcome in to the New Orleans Saints podcast you'll hear from players coaches broadcasters and writers that cover the NFL on a daily basis the New Orleans Saints podcast starts right now here's your host Aaron Summers welcome into the New Orleans Saints podcast I'm Erin Summers week one is finally here the Saints kicked off practiced Wednesday they'll be back at it Thursday and Friday as they prepare for game one the home opener against the Carolina Panthers Sunday at 12:00 and if practice on Wednesday was any indication the Saints are going to be heading into that game pretty healthy linebacker Willie Gay Jr missed practiced on Monday however he was back at practice at Wednesday listed with a back injury on the first injury report and a limited particip cornerback Marshon Latimore and guard Nick salivary were both limited on Wednesday's practice as well linebacker Jaylen Ford tight end doen Hulker linebacker DeMarco Jackson and defensive tackle Colin Saunders were the only nonparticipants we have a really special guest in today's podcast actually we have two Senator Eric McCoy and musician singer Jordan Davis Davis is from shareport Louisiana he went to LSU and he is performing at halftime of the the Saints game on Sunday he's fired up about it here's Eric and Jordan it is so great to have Jordan Davis Louisiana native on the New Orleans Saints podcast alongside Eric McCoy captain again are you ready for that uh I'm very ready for it like last year was a learning opportunity for me and I can just carry that into this year and be better truthfully um it was a big learning curve so I know we're all ready for at least the regular season to start first week and we have Jordan performing at halime in the super doome so I I kind of feel like we need to start with Jordan's fandom here how big of a Saints fan are you and how did it start oh gosh this goes back to um you know I was born and raised in streetport uh so my dad was a massive Archie Manning fan so this goes way back to to the Manning days uh and in Louisiana you have no choice you're you're you're a Saints fan so uh it goes it's it's pretty deep in the Davis Family the the love of New Orleans Saints that's awesome it's going to be a really fun show and Eric you obviously have played multiple times in the Super Dome what does Jordan need to know about being on that stage being in that in the dome and perform in there it is going to be an electric atmosphere um not just because of the football game but you're lusiana native as well like you said from streetport like they're going to have it going for you they're going to be pumped to have you there um so I expect full support and lots of yelling and screaming and I wish my wife was there because she is a huge fan that's she's not going to be there but I wish he was um you know I'll be doing halftime adjustments or I'd be out there too um but it's gonna be awesome we can definitely get you a video of it after I'm just glad that I don't have the size of the guys chasing after me that Eric does so that that that relieves a lot of the the the pressures of playing in Super Dome yeah there's some big boys out there especially on this D line it's some Big Boys it's gonna be the Panthers though on Sunday and start with a division rival you got to get that one first what's it going to take man um I think it's going to take physicality toughness and discipline and execution like we have to be able to run the ball I think that's a key um they have a really good secondary last year I think they were top five maybe top seven in passing yards giving up per game yes I think that truthfully once again it comes back to the line like we have to go out we have to execute we have to be physical and yeah that's offensively you know defense has their own little they have their own game plan but offensively we got to go out and be physical Jordan as a fan what do you looking forward to what do you need to see yeah I mean I think Eric spot on I think got be able to run the football um I think Derek Carr is a great quarterback but we can't rely on him to to to do it through his arm uh I think defense is I I think that we're going to be able to to to stop the Panthers um I think it's just you know controlling the football and and starting like you said starting the starting season out with a huge division win and the cool thing for me is my drummer and my keys player are all from North Carolina they're massive Panther fans so it's going to be it's going to be even sweeter when we win and I see them playing in Saints black and gold it's just going to be the best it's gonna be the be I'm gonna have it over their heads forever so little little Robert reaction you gotta abely AB have you been to the game in the dome before oh yeah okay I assume so but it's it's truly a and one of the coolest things about you know touring is you know being able to be in different cities being able to be in different venues um being able to go to games and there truly there is nothing and I'm not saying that because I'm a Saints Homer there is nothing like the super doome uh it it is a it is a magical place and I've never I've never made a a opening day in the Superdome this will be my first so I know it's going to be 10 times what what I've experienced in the past it is going to be a party don't let the whiskey make you weak I see what you did I like that so we do have a fan here of yours Jordan so you just country in general um yeah I'll say I'll say a few things um not to be too serious In This Moment Last year me and my wife had a miscarriage right before Camp um and then honestly your music The Bluebird Days album kind of got us through a hard time um you know church and a Chevy that's one of our favorite song it's one of it is her favorite song it's one of our favorite songs um just because it kind of related to what we were going through at the time and it was truthfully the only song that my wife could listen to that involved the word god at that time it was a hard time um and then actually around this time last year we went saw you show in Nashville at the um the outdoor Amphitheater I can't remember what it's called yeah and this past year we went and saw you and Luke Holmes in San Antonio so you know I'm a little bit of a fan I'm not I'm not going to try to out hey man that means a world to me that record uh for me uh was truly a record that you know was my second fulllength album uh and there's a lot of pressure on that one uh you know mainly I think because a lot of people maybe think anybody can get lucky on the first record and the first record did really well for us but uh the second one for me was special because uh like you said man it was I I wrote about some stuff on that album that U I got pretty personal um wrote about some things that you know the challenges I face um you know I've got three little ones and you know sometimes it um it's it's there's just personal topics on that that uh I really kind of kind of dove into and and I was pretty nervous to write that so um man for you to say that that means the world America I appreciate that man thank you very the McCoy household appreciates you a lot thank you even if we don't know you as a person as as an artist we appreciate you a lot I sure appreciate that thank you well Eric you did get to welcome a baby recently yes I did how how great was that moment man I can't lie to you I am so in love um I had my first daughter this past offseason she is nine weeks old now um her name is rehea and she is currently in the 99th percentile for everything she's she is a big girl she's she's a big girl um but it truly is the joy of my life I get to call him every day I get to be with her I get to feed her like even though she's just in the stage of eating and pooping and sleeping like it is everything that I've ever wanted and I've ever dreamed of and I can gosh I don't even like I really don't know what to say um just that I'm so it is a it's you know and I think too what's funny is you know even and you can't really put into words like the new dad thing uh I know for me you can expect it and you can try it and you can ask other you know Dad's like man what am I going to experience like what what is this going to feel like and everybody would always say like oh man you I can't even explain it until you're there and you finally get to hold them and man it is uh it's truly one of the greatest if not the greatest joy in life is Ely is getting the chance to be a dad absolutely I uh the one thing that call me by surprise is how emotional I was when she was born like booh hooing balling my eyes out like and I'm not I'm not a super emotional person so that's what called me by surprise just the first thing and it was yeah I love it special it is it's really cool to see both of you connect you obviously live in very different worlds football on the stage but still both on a stage a lot for the world to see how hard is it to be to put yourself out there and be vulnerable like that yeah um you know I mean I think you know even going back to what I was saying with Bluebird days the album it's like there was songs on there that I didn't think that would be able to connect with people um and and going even going back to church in the Chevy you know U you know putting your faith out there like that and and the way that I relate to it um the way that I view it um I was I was pretty you know I was pretty scared to put that song out and and what's been the cool thing is hearing stories like that uh you know people being like hey man you know I never um you know I never really thought of it like going to church would be just driving a truck down a road and and and it in that moment you you feel that um but yeah I think it's it's um it's one of the coolest things that we get to do I think as as entertainers and I would even you know roll that into professional athletes it's a you know everybody views Eric as this big strong you know professional football player and whenever you're able to kind of separate that wall of like well yeah he is but he's also that's his job um you know he's also a dad a husband um and I think that we kind of share a little a little sense of we can kind of connect on that with us it's like you know I'm not always the guy that is touring and and getting to play these amazing shows um you know I may do that on Saturday and then on Sunday morning I may have to wake up and and deal with a a mad daughter because I didn't make her EG you know it's the it's it's the reality checks that I think I get that make that that make it really really cool you know I don't really put myself out there I mean we are here in New Orleans and these fans they can be kind of intense they are they are but I think it's just like they they care so much about City and about the team yeah it that's how it is um but you know I'll be the first one to tell you that sometimes I struggle to separate Eric the player versus Eric the person um and even like putting myself out there like this is my first I'm even talking about her miscarriage on a public stage um like sometimes it's just it can be hard to be emotionally available I think and put myself on a stage where people outside of my immediate family or outside of my immediate friend group know me I don't I like there it's an expectation I put on myself of being the big the strong the you know the tough guy yeah um something I'm trying to break um I say it's it's something that I'm growing in um I think having a child is going to soften me up a lot because I was going to say that little girls is definitely going to soften you up she's softened me up already yeah good man it's it's the it's the best thing i' my daughter can absolutely I mean I'm already I'm in trouble whatever she wants she gets so it's it's definitely but man I love it it's I love I love getting a beer a dad so it's cool how old is she she's five five his first one a girl too it's she's she she's starting to get to be a handful but it's uh it's awesome I want to go back to you saying that your bandmates are going to be wearing Saints colors even though they're Panthers fans which makes sense because they are performing at our game what's on the line if if is there a bed a friendly wager here um I don't think they're confident enough to make a wager um I think they are I think they are very scared going into Sunday so uh they're they're just they're just going to enjoy it uh as much as I say that you know them it being a division game uh they're very well they're very well aware of how special a game in New Orleans is yeah so even they're excited you know they're they're ready they're ready to get down there and experience it um but no we don't have a we don't have a wager yet um I need to I need to come up with something before Sunday that I can maybe I maybe I can come up with a wager if we win I don't have to pay him for a year that would be a good one if you can convince them to do that that's that's pretty impressive very impressive I'm not allowed to endorse gambling no but that would be impressive I want to make sure everybody hears that yeah what are you looking forward to doing while you're here in town yeah uh I mean New Orleans has always held a really special place to me I met my wife in New Orleans um and she's gonna fly down she's coming to the game with me we're g to stay back Sunday night and just kind of hit some of our favorite favorite spot Sunday evening and Monday morning uh before we take back to Nashville but uh for me it's it's just a I just love that City so much and then being such a a huge Saints fan to be able to tie this all together uh you know the place we met playing the halftime show at the season opener um you know having her there it's it's going to be a special weekend can we ask you where you met I don't want to be one yeah so we met at um it we actually it was a wedding in hom but everybody everybody was going out in New Orleans uh the night or the day after the wedding uh so we met at um uh bakol the little wine bar over yeah so they had like a little jazz band going we went in there to kind of before we took everything into the quarter and started getting crazy uh I was like man I show y'all this this cool little spot I had a friend of mine that lived like right down the street from bakol so he was like hey let's meet at Bak andol so I met we showed up there um I saw her sitting at a table with some friends and uh I went over and introduced myself and then they hung out with us for the rest of the evening so and then after that here we are now um few kiddos in and married for coming up on eight years that's awesome that is awesome yeah went wedding was on the hunt himself I love it do a guy at the time I was like maybe I bet might meet my wife here and sure enough I did did you ever think about playing sports or was it always music for you no I was I was Sports crazy for Godly uh I mean you know I really didn't pick the guitar up until uh I got into college but yeah all through High School uh you know played football and baseball um was a I loved football more but I was a better baseball player uh but yeah had a a played through played through High School uh thought about going to play baseball in college uh but voted Ved against that and went to LSU and became a average crazy LSU student uh so but I'm glad it went that path I I don't think I I don't think my my sports world would have ran as long as Eric's did Eric what position do you think that Jordan was in football o all right so my senior year metrics I about to say my senior year I was 63 184 63 six2 and a half um let's see I could see a safety or an outside receiver I was actually quarterback oh shoot right have a cannon back there so we we ran a wing T so it kind of I could I could throw it I could throw it pretty well uh I was definitely more of a more of an option quarterback so we had a we had a Allstate running back um we had all state fullback and a really couple really good wings so so we were pretty deadly on on the wing te that was nice athletic all right any questions you have for Eric being a big Saints fan that you are oh gosh I mean I could sit here for an hour and ask about uh ask about some some scheme stuff but I'm not gonna I did I did I know Eric was he's a Texas A&M guy um how many now how many times did you whoop LSU when y'all were at A&M I went one and three was it really I thought wait you were there what 201 2016 15 to 18 I was a part of the my last game my last regular season game in college was the seven overtime game was it really it was my last regular season game in college seven overtimes that was one of the most fun football games to watch I think I've ever and and and we lost outside of the exhaustion it was one of the most fun games it was the most F I played in because the stadium because cyle Fields it's another like great place incredible environment crazy fans rushed the field um it was wild but I am one and three I own that my first year I didn't play I red shirted then the next two years well I will I'll and not to just stay on College can I get another question yes that's all uh man it really feels you know as a fan it it feels like there is something special in New Orleans like there's a there's a change it feels like U it feels like the team is is coming back to the to not to relive The Glory Days of the the Drew Brees um but it feels more so like the years when Drew was there and obviously the year we went on to win the Super Bowl but um what what do you think what is that that is making the the cohesion that even the fans feel that there's just something different happening in New Orleans uh it feels like everybody's defense offense special teams last year turning a page ending the season as strong as we did gota that's go to feel like it's carrying over in into this year um I mean what would you what do you attribute to that yeah I would say two things really um number one is Unity like I think every position group has messed extremely well even with the new guys that we brought in this year I think across um I don't want to say Enemy Lines but like offense defense special teams like we all click like we all hang out like we hang out the side of the building like we've all been to each other's houses drick had us over for a dinner at his house a couple weeks or oh was last week last week um so I think just the Brotherhood is I don't want to say more tighten it than I've ever seen but I would say that we're coming together and we are very cohesive um IO that's one part of it and I'll say the second part is our defense is our defense they've been top 10 in the NFL for the past however many years you want to call it but offensively I think this new scheme and this new system under coach kubak is something that has me really excited as a player um I feel like it plays to a lot of our advantages um and a lot of our strengths as an offense with the with the players that we have we have Alvin obviously I think he is the best player on our offense um but then you have your guys like olve Shahed Jaan Johnson F Moro like all these guys can go um and I'm I left out the quarterback Derek Carr of course I'm a Derek Carr fan I'm a number one fan um I'm just talking skill positions um like these guys are explosive and if you get the ball in their hands they're going to make something go um so I'm really excited for what the first 15 plays we call call it look like um in this upcoming game and I'm excited about our ability to go out and execute these plays um because I love this offense and I think it's fun and I think that it can be beneficial for every single player on this team feels great man I'm telling you as like I don't I don't think I've been this excited for for Saints season in a long time uh it it just feels like there's there's a there's a change in New Orleans and and I think it's going to be a great year I'm I'm I'm stoked for you man same appreciate you bro anything from you oh geez let me think for a second I knew this question was going to come and I was thinking about it in the back of my mind but I didn't can we expect the third album within whatever what time frame can we expect that in oh yeah we got a a brand new album coming in February uh I actually just left the studio yesterday uh cutting the last four songs for it so uh you know it's it's it's kind of one of the things with the music business business where it has to be done you know 3 four months in advance before it gets released but I've always shot to get a record out in the beginning of a year so that we can you know spend the rest of the year touring the album um and you know after Bluebird days I I put a lot of songs on that album and um and we've been touring it this entire year but it kind of took me a while to get out of that that mindset and and get back into writing a new record that wasn't about you know like I said so many personal songs on there Soh it took me a little while to get there we finally wrapped it up and uh we're we're we're we're getting close to releasing it hopefully in February nice got time for two more yeah yeah you got time for two more oh yeah absolutely the first one is I'm gonna saying both because I'll forget them um what is your favorite song that you've written and number two will you tour in New Orleans this time around so I'd say the first or favorite song I've written um will probably be um next thing you know um that that that one and I would say that because I think we kind of broke some rules in that song uh you know mostly most of the times you write a song you have a verse A Chorus Verse Chorus you repeat the chorus give give the listener something to remember um and with that one we never repeated any chorus we started and just wrote a three minute song three minute long song and then also too they say in music you never want to talk about getting old or uh you know having kids you want to stay young and cool uh we definitely wrote about that in this song and it went on to be one of one of my biggest songs I put out so I would say that was my favorite one I've written and uh yes New Orleans is definitely definitely on the list of of places we've got to hit if I could I would just play New Orleans but we go a got get the super dumb yeah that would be that's awesome well it's been awesome meeting you having you guys be able to meet and I hope that on Sunday you can do it before the game actually in person maybe picture or something going absolutely pregame and then a post game Victory picture also so hell yeah come locker room I can't say what else say never mind hang up yeah y'all can link up offline yeah absolutely absolutely awesome Jordan thank you so much for the time I appreciate it hey thank you all for having me Eric man so good to sit and hang with you dude uh best of luck this year I know Sunday but stay healthy this year and uh man thank you so much for for bringing so much joy to so many Saints fans out there man we're we're looking forward to watching y'all this year appreciate you bro this is awesome I'm going to tell on Eric and honestly I hope he doesn't listen to this but before he walked into the room I heard him say that he was nervous it's really cool to see players that are as big as they are Eric McCoy is a household name here in New Orleans being enamored by somebody else and to hear his story about why he likes Jordan Davis and his music so much was really touching it was really cool to see those two be able to meet appreciate both of them taking the time for that we look forward to seeing them both on the field on Sunday after practice on Wednesday head coach Dennis Allen said the key to a game one Victory lies in the team's ability to make adjustments throughout the game last season the Panthers they went two and 13 they went off and hired a new head coach and Dave Canales the former Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Canales has done a really good job at rejuvenating quarterback's careers and the number one overall pick two years ago Bryce young definitely needed some help looks like things have been clicking for them if you look at the preseason game they had earlier this year in the one drive that young was able to lead he moved the team down the field things look different and there are a lot of different players on the Panthers as well what exactly they do and how the Saints adjust to it is going to be key on Sunday when you get into the first game of the season you know I I just think it's it's the team that's able to adjust the best um that's going to have the most success because um you know everybody's going to have something that that you haven't seen yet um and so I think that that'll be the that'll be the challenge for us is is finding out you know what they're trying to do how they're trying to attack Us in all three phases um and then being able to adjust uh when we need to and there are a lot of unknowns with the Saints as well under new offensive coordinator Clint kubak we're going to see a little bit more of that offense on Sunday what's extra nice for quarterback Derek Carr is kubak is taking a lot of the decision- making out of his hands as they have to adjust throughout the game to what they're seeing from the Panthers defensively kubak is going to let Carr know what he needs Carr is a fan it's really clear to me when to do it like I I had a question you know it's a it's a great question you ask cuz I had a question today going through something I was like hey there's this there's this and this like when do you want me to think this or think that and he's like I will tell you don't even worry about it you just play and it's freeing for me cuz if he wants to throw it there or he wants to take a shot or he wants to do this like obviously we're not just going to throw it up into triple coverage you know but like there's times where you know hey if it's there I want now I want you thinking it hey I don't even want you thinking it this time you know that you know he sees something he's trying to show something or he he's been working on uh you know making something look one way to come back to that you know there's I don't know what's going on in his head but I'm I'm getting there you know and it'll take these game reps to learn that but he makes it pretty easy on me that it's not like a big alert thing or anything like that it's like no I I'm going to be very clear so you know every time you touch that ball where your eyes should be what you should be doing there's no indecision at all and they do a really good job of that in this system of making me free of those kind of decisions in general the Saints locker room is just buzzing they cannot wait to show the fans what they've been working on throughout training camp and actually before that because this team has been hard at work throughout the off season to write some of the wrongs from last year the slow start to the season and really pick up where they left off here's quarterback Derek Carr and defensive end Cam Jordan yeah we're we're really excited as offense um but it comes out with a great challenge this is a defense that you know really you know well coached team uh skilled players um you know Talent everywhere and so it's a it's a tough task but um for us as an offense we've been working really hard and so of course we're excited to go out there and play live games and you know put the first one out there hopefully hopefully get a win and then just keep building on it and you know hopefully play good football so there's been a lot of work to that went in to make sure that you know hopefully we start fast um you know that's a that's a key to us trying to keep the same mindset we had towards the end of the year last year um treating all these games like do or die you know from the junk um and not waiting for a for a back against the wall type moment um to have to do that so that's the mindset you know we're excited um but again we got to go do it you know but we get to put the ball down on Sunday and finally get the play so it'll be good I'm I'm like a little kid today it's like you know the hard work you put in through training camp uh being away from the fam focusing in on honing the craft you do all that to get the game get the game week I you know at the final preseason game you're just like get me to week one we're in week one now so it's it's a good place to be in I think we got phenomenal Talent on the team I think we have great leaders on the team I think we have great players on this team and all we have to do is realize our greater potential and go capitalize that does it for this edition of the New Orleans Saints podcast thank you so much for tuning in we'll be back Friday as we preview the Saints and Panthers game with NFL on Fox play-by-play Chris Meers tune in then thanks for listening to the New Orleans Saints podcast join us three times per week on New Orleans saints.com the Saints mobile app or you can download the podcast on iTunes we'll see you next time right here on the New Orleans Saints podcast [Applause]