Mike

McCarthy

Oh dear. “Mike can leave and go wherever he wants,” Parsons continued. “Guys I kind of feel bad for (are) guys like Zack Martin and guys who might be on their last year or on their way out. ... You want to win games & do great things with those types of legends who put in more time and work than Mike McCarthy ever did.” Tell us how you really feel, Micah. If a star player is publicly sharing this type of sentiment, it is fair to say McCarthy has likely already lost the locker room. We expect his tenure with the Cowboys to conclude by the end of the season, at the latest.

Mike McCarthy entered the season on the hot seat after the team mulled firing him following last season’s playoff loss to the Packers. With one year left on his current deal, 2024 is a true make-or-break season for the veteran coach, whose seat undoubtedly got hotter after Sunday’s shellacking. McCarthy and and the Cowboys have a lot to correct on both sides of the ball during their Week 7 bye, and face a tough test coming out when the face the 49ers in Week 8.

McCarthy has been the coach of the Cowboys for the past four seasons, leading them to three straight playoff appearances. Dallas has one playoff win over his tenure, leading to questions of McCarthy being on the hot seat after a disappointing loss to the Packers in the Wild Card round. However, Schefter reports that McCarthy will be back to coach the Cowboys in 2024, which is also the last season of his contract. Jerry Jones seems to be running it back with key coaches and players, at least for another season before McCarthy’s contract is up for renewal.

McCarthy, per Rapoport, is expected to meet with Dallas owner Jerry Jones in the coming days and finish exit interviews with Cowboys players. The heavily-favored Cowboys were humiliated by the Packers in their Super Wild Card home game last weekend, the latest in McCarty’s postseason face plants in Dallas. Jones, who has a history of sticking with head coaches through tough losses, appeared despondent after the Cowboys’ loss to Green Bay. A new coach would mean an entirely new offense for Dak Prescott and the Cowboys in 2024.

McCarthy has been a great regular season coach for the Cowboys, racking up 35 wins and just 15 losses over the past three years. However, Dallas has been bounced from the playoffs via a bungled final play in back-to-back seasons. For as good as the Cowboys have been until January, their postseason efforts have been equally disastrous. Still, it’s hard to imagine Jerry Jones moving on from McCarthy after three seasons with 12 wins (assuming they beat Washington on Sunday). Barring a truly hilarious loss in the playoffs, McCarthy should be back on the headset for 2024. Schefter also noted that the team’s ability to keep defensive coordinator Dan Quinn on the payroll could change things. Quinn turned down head coaching interviews last offseason but will be tempted by those same offers again this year. Jones will be doing everything he can to keep Quinn in town for another season.

McCarthy is reportedly already at home and working with the staff via Zoom. In addition to returning to the team facilities on Friday, he’s also expected to hold a video news conference with the media before the weekend. Barring any setbacks, it’s been reported that McCarthy plans on being on the sideline and coaching the team for Sunday night’s Week 14 contest against the Eagles.

McCarthy experienced abdominal pain on Wednesday morning and will undergo the procedure in the afternoon. Dallas coordinators will take over practice for the next few days as the Cowboys prep for Sunday night’s showdown against the division rival Eagles. McCarthy is expected to be back on the sideline by Sunday night.

If you thought that quote was bad, it only gets worse upon further inspection. McCarthy added, “I don’t desire to be the No. 1 offense in the league. I want to be the No. 1 team in the league.” He also noted that Moore wanted to light up the scoreboard, and that was seemingly said as a knock on his philosophy. McCarthy described the run game as a means of resting his defense. The talk of his bygone style of football lines up with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones previously saying McCarthy will be bringing a version of the scheme McCarthy ran in Green Bay to Dallas. This type of backsliding from the Cowboys’ offense was all but inevitable after they swapped out Moore for Brian Schottenheimer this offseason. The former Seahawks offensive coordinator was famous for his dogmatic commitment to the ground game while in Seattle. He is now serving as the Cowboys’ offensive coordinator following Moore’s dismissal.

McCarthy, after the Cowboys’ loss to the 49ers in the Divisional Round of the playoffs, took over play-calling duties from Kellen Moore, who was dispatched and landed in LA as the Chargers offensive coordinator. McCarthy’s Packers scheme worked wonderfully with Aaron Rodgers at the peak of his powers, but fell off the proverbial cliff in McCarthy’s final three inglorious years in Green Bay. McCarthy was widely criticized for running an offense without much (if any) pre-snap motion or any other effort to keep opposing defenses off guard. Unless this old dog has learned some new tricks, Dallas’ offense will likely take a major step backward in 2023.

Landry, of course, graced the Cowboys’ sideline for 29 years. McCarthy will be lucky to last one fifth of that, especially since Jones has retained internal rival Dan Quinn. DC Quinn has been one of the coaching cycle’s hottest candidates each of the past two years before ultimately opting to return to Dallas. Jones was overly patient with Jason Garrett, but now on the wrong side of 80, we doubt he will make the same mistake with McCarthy. Although it is true of every coach to some degree, McCarthy will be coaching for his job in 2023.