2016By Ken Fang on

He’s brash. He’s bold. And he’s head of ESPN’s Scouts, Inc., but that doesn’t stop people from within the football community from questioning his credentials and expertise. The latest is agent Leigh Steinberg whose client is quarterback Paxton Lynch.

During a media conference call earlier this week, McShay said Lynch played in a very simplistic offense at Memphis and added, “He’s got to learn how to get his team in and out of a huddle, and how to make line checks, and pre-snap audibles, and get them out of bad plays into good plays — he hasn’t had to do any of those things.”

That led Steinberg to go on a Twitter rant:

That’s a little below the belt there. As much as McShay is disliked by certain people, there’s no need to bring up his background. For what it’s worth, McShay did play in college as a backup quarterback at Richmond College and also was an undergraduate assistant for the school, but it doesn’t mean that he’s not qualified to be a draft expert.

Steinberg later regretted his tweet:

But Steinberg is not alone in his opinion on McShay. Pro Football Talk asked a long-time NFL scout if teams pay attention to what McShay says and said fellow ESPN draftnik Mel Kiper, Jr. has more respect … “And that’s a stretch, too.”

Steinberg went public with his assessment of McShay and it probably mirrors what many agents, scouts and executives feels, however, it appears he’s going to be with ESPN for a long time to come so the NFL community had better get used to his opinions.

[Pro Football Talk]

About Ken Fang

Ken has been covering the sports media in earnest at his own site, Fang's Bites since May 2007 and at Awful Announcing since March 2013.

He provides a unique perspective having been an award-winning radio news reporter in Providence and having worked in local television.

Fang celebrates the four Boston Red Sox World Championships in the 21st Century, but continues to be a long-suffering Cleveland Browns fan.

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