The Dallas Cowboys have a (1-3) postseason record with Mike McCarthy — and many believed Jerry Jones would make a bold decision and move on from his head coach after the embarrassing home drubbing at home agains the Packers on Sunday — but that’s not the case.
Even with Bill Belichick available and rumors swirling about the friendship between the former New England Patriots coach and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, the team announced on Wednesday night they were keeping McCcarthy. It feels like the smart move as the former Packers coach has led Dallas to 3-straight (12-5) regular seasons.
This year, the Cowboys offense appeared to have a major boost on offense under McCarthy after firing former offensive coordinator Kellen Moore. Suddenly, Dak Prescott put together one of his best NFL seasons and CeeDee Lamb emerged as the dominant No. 1 WR the team has been hoping for.
It’s almost impossible to move on from Prescott at this point, so it makes sense for Jerry Jones to bring McCarthy back for at least one more year to see if he can somehow get past this team’s postseason woes.
The news come as a shock as the owner is known for making abrupt moves in hopes for winning another Super Bowl, but Jones released a statement clearly backing Mike McCarthy.
“I believe this team is very close and capable of achieving our ultimate goals and the best step forward for us will be with Mike McCarthy as our head coach,” Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said in a statement Wednesday night. “There is great benefit to continuing the team’s progress under Mike’s leadership as our head coach. Specifically, there are many layers of success that have occurred this season as a result of Mike’s approach to leading the team, both with individual players and with our team collectively. Mike has the highest regular-season winning percentage of any head coach in Cowboys history and we will dedicate ourselves, in partnership with him, to translating that into reaching our postseason goals. Certainly, Mike’s career has demonstrated postseason success at a high level, and we have great confidence that can continue.”
Jones then addressed Sunday’s stunning loss before continuing to address goals for McCarthy and the Dallas Cowboys future.
“Further, our loss on Sunday is shared by everyone here, not just Coach McCarthy. Our players. Our coaches. Our front office. Myself. There is accountability for our results. I am accountable for our results. The lens we use to view and evaluate Coach McCarthy is holistic. While we’re all disappointed with the result on Sunday and with our playoff record, I am 100 percent supportive of him as our head coach and ability to reach our goals. We will start our process of review and decision making regarding everything that impacts our team and roster and, while we’re not going to address specific players and extensions or free agents at this point, it deserves our deepest review and consideration, and it will get it.”
Skip Bayliss Furious With Dallas Cowboys Keeping Mike McCarthy, Takes To Social Media With Hilarious One-Word Response
The decision to retain McCarthy as the HC sparked mixed responses from both sports analysts and fans alike. Skip Bayless isn’t one to hide his emotions — and the longtime Cowboys fan and Fox Sports host has been vocal about his desire for the organization to move on since Sunday’s devastating loss.
He gave a classic response when the news was announced. Bayliss simply wrote the word, “no” but his delivery was perfect.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) January 18, 2024
He also posted, “Jerry stuck with Mike McCarthy after THAT??? McKillMe.”
It will be interesting to see reactions from fans, former players and media over the coming days. Either way, the Dallas Cowboys have Mike McCarthy as their head coach.