Mike McCarthy will bring discipline to Dallas Cowboys, will be good for Dak Prescott
According to two former Green Bay Packers, new head coach Mike McCarthy will bring discipline and accountability to the Dallas Cowboys and his famed quarterback school will benefit Dak Prescott.
Receiver Randall Cobb was with the Packers for eight seasons before he signed with the Cowboys as a free agent in 2019. He says his eyes lit up when he learned that McCarthy was being considered to replace Jason Garrett, who was formally cast aside on Sunday.
“When I heard he was coming down for the interview [I was excited] and I had a feeling once he stayed overnight that there was a good chance that he was going to get the job,” Cobb said. “I played for him. He drafted me. I had eight great years with him. I think he will be a good fit here.”
McCarthy becomes the ninth head coach in Cowboys history, and he will be introduced formally at a press conference in Frisco on Wednesday. There are lofty expectations.
“This team has more talent than what he has had before,” Cobb said. “It will be interesting to see how he makes everything happen.”
That Cobb said the Cowboys have more talent than what McCarthy had in Green Bay speaks volumes given that he led the Packers to eight straight trips to the playoffs, and a Super Bowl title after the 2010 season.
Owner Jerry Jones said he felt the Cowboys had too much talent to finish 8-8 and miss the playoffs, as they did last season and three other times in Garrett’s nine full seasons. That’s partially why Jones targeted an experienced and proven coach to lead them.
One thing that Cobb knows for sure is that McCarthy will bring discipline and accountability to the Cowboys.
“He is big on discipline,” Cobb said. “He is big on accountability and making sure guys understand what we are doing. The biggest thing for him is knowing your assignment — making sure you are where you are supposed to be and when you are supposed to be there. And making sure you are not making mental errors during the course of the game.”
Former Texas star tight end Jermichael Finley, who played six years with the Packers before being forced to retire because of injury, echoed Cobb on McCarthy’s discipline and tough love.
He just hopes Jones lets McCarthy run the team and locker room without interference.
“Yes, that is one thing he is going to have to talk to Jerry about, ‘let me do this’,” Finley said, adding that McCarthy is “going to get on you. It’s going to feel like you are back in college. You screw up on a play, and he is going to get on you.”
But Finley also said that McCarthy’s tough discipline comes from a place of love.
“He is going to pat you on the back,” Finley said. “He is going to criticize you. He is going to tell you why he does it. He is a dad. I was a guy who didn’t have a father figure. Having a guy like that was comforting. You want to play for those guys.”
Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre said McCarthy brings “a certain level of brash and toughness” to Dallas and he can handle Jones.
“I don’t know Jerry other than what I see and hear. Obviously, he’s the owner and everything starts and stops with him,” Favre said on SiriusXM NFL Radio. “Mike’s a smart guy. He knows that [about Jones] and he knows that maybe, at times, Jerry will interfere or say things that you don’t agree with or don’t like. But it is what it is. I’ll say this: Mike is one of those guys from Pittsburgh; he’s hard-nosed, and he’s tough. He is an aggressive personality.
“If there’s anyone out there presently that can handle that, it’s Mike.”
Favre played for McCarthy for two seasons before being replaced by Aaron Rodgers and then traded to the New York Jets in 2008.
He says McCarthy is a good fit for the Cowboys and the move will also help quarterback Dak Prescott.
“I think it’s a good fit for Mike and I think it’s a great fit for the Cowboys,” Favre said. “Mike has his philosophy as far as offense is concerned, and I don’t think that’s going to change greatly but I do think what he’ll do is try to incorporate what Dak feels very comfortable with.”
More importantly, he is a guy who can help Prescott continue to develop his game. McCarthy has worked with a range of quarterbacks, including Joe Montana, Rich Gannon, Matt Hasselbeck, Aaron Brooks and, of course, Favre and Rodgers.
Cobb said McCarthy’s quarterback school and his notebook of techniques, some of which go back to his days with Montana in Kansas City in 1994, will be good for Prescott.
“The way Coach McCarthy runs his system is all based on footwork at the quarterback position,” Cobb said. “[There’s] a rhythm and a cadence to the offense. A lot of it is based on the quarterback’s steps and the receiver’s steps matching up in the passing game, being in the right spot at the right time.”
But is this the right time for McCarthy and the Cowboys?
“I am a McCarthy guy. I am a big advocate,” Finley said. “I think he is going to do great things here.”
Cobb, who is a free agent, hopes that McCarthy’s presence means that he will be back in Dallas next season.
“I would love to be down here,” Cobb said. “I loved this past year. My family enjoyed being down here in Dallas. With the familiarly with Coach McCarthy and his system, I definitely would love to play for him.
“But there are a lot of things that have to happen,” Cobb continued. “There are a lot of pieces that have to be put in place. We will see what happens. It’s definitely a possibility, and hopefully they feel the same way.”
