Mike McCarthy agrees to five-year deal to become ninth coach in Dallas Cowboys history
For all of last week’s melodrama over the departure of coach Jason Garrett, the Dallas Cowboys worked fast and efficiently in finding his replacement.
Sources confirmed on Monday morning that Mike McCarthy had been offered and accepted the job, becoming the ninth coach in team history, and the eighth since owner Jerry Jones bought the team in 1989.
McCarthy, sources said, has a five-year deal with the Cowboys.
Jones wanted a proven winner and experienced NFL coach and he got exactly that in McCarthy, who had a 125-77-2 record with six division titles, four trips to the NFC Championship Game and one Super Bowl title during his career with the Green Bay Packers from 2006-2018.
The Cowboys were smitten quickly as McCarthy flew into town Saturday for the interview and things went so well that he reportedly spent the night at Jones’ house in Highland Park before leaving on Sunday.
The Cowboys officially said goodbye to Garrett on Sunday, seven days after the 2019 season finale against the Washington Redskins in a decision that was a foregone conclusion after the fourth 8-8 season in his 9½ years as head coach. It just took them awhile to show him the door.
The Cowboys actually interviewed Marvin Lewis, the former Cincinnati Bengals coach first. He came in Friday and left on Saturday.
McCarthy comes to Dallas not only looking to make the Cowboys a big winner again but also hoping to rebuild his image. McCarthy led Green Bay to eight consecutive playoff appearances from 2009-2016, the third longest streak in NFL history.
Only three other coaches have a streak that long and they are legends of the game: former Cowboys coach Tom Landry, former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Chuck Noll and New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick.
Landry won two Super Bowl titles. Noll won four. And Belichick has six.
McCarthy’s success in Green Bay was derailed because of a rift with star quarterback Aaron Rodgers over play calling, and the organization decided to part ways with him after a 4-7-1 start in 2018.
That the Packers only won one Super Bowl with Rodgers, a future Hall of Fame quarterback, was largely blamed on McCarthy.
Now he is in charge of trying to take quarterback Dak Prescott to the next level and hopefully lead the Cowboys to the Super Bowl for the first time since the 1995 season.
Ironically, McCarthy’s lone title came following the 2010 season in Super Bowl XLV at AT&T Stadium.
McCarthy isn’t taking long in making staff decisions. He plans to bring in New Orleans Saints linebacker coach Mike Nolan as his defensive coordinator, effectively ending Rod Marinelli’s career in Dallas.
Nolan and McCarthy have a long relationship, with Nolan having hired McCarthy as the San Francisco 49ers’ offensive coordinator in 2005 when he was named head coach. McCarthy became the Packers head coach in 2006.
Nolan is a long-time NFL defensive coordinator, most recently with the Denver Broncos, Miami Dolphins and Atlanta Falcons after being fired as the 49ers head coach in 2008.
Nolan plans to continue to run the 4-3 defense in Dallas.
This story was originally published January 6, 2020 at 10:20 AM.
