Dallas Cowboys give McCarthy same authority on staff, player decisions as Parcells had
As Mike McCarthy continues to assemble his coaching staff with the Dallas Cowboys, it’s clear that the assistants under former coach Jason Garrett will have to find work elsewhere.
The latest assistants to have been shown the door are offensive line coach Marc Colombo and receivers coach Sanjay Lal. So far, offensive coordinator Kellen Moore is the only member of Garrett’s staff who has been asked to stay.
According to sources, McCarthy is expected to bring in former Miami Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin to handle the offensive line. Philbin was also on McCarthy’s Green Bay Packers staff from 2006 to 2012 before he was hired to coach the Dolphins.
The Philbin hire will give McCarthy four assistants who have head coaching experience. Incoming defensive coordinator Mike Nolan and defensive line coach Jim Tomsula were both head coaches with the San Francisco 49ers. And special teams coach John Fassel was an interim head coach with the Los Angeles Rams.
Lal and Colombo each had two years left on their contracts, which in previous regime changes in Dallas typically meant that a new head coach would have to work with his inherited assistants so that the Cowboys wouldn’t have to eat those salaries.
Not so in the McCarthy era.
“We wanted Mike to pick his own staff if he wanted to,” owner Jerry Jones said. “I mean, not if he wanted to. We wanted him to pick his own staff. I’ve always thought that.”
That last sentence was said tongue in cheek with a wink by Jones, who is known for forcing assistants on his head coaches.
The most famous example of this came in 2007 when Jones tabbed Garrett to be the offensive coordinator — a move that was made even before Jones hired head coach Wade Phillips to replace Bill Parcells.
That history is important here.
Parcells 2.0
Vice president Stephen Jones said McCarthy would have exactly the same authority on staff and player personnel decisions that Parcells did during his run with the Cowboys, which was considerably more freedom than what Jones has normally extended to his head coaches.
Parcells, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2013, had that freedom, in part, because he had won two Super Bowl titles before coming to Dallas. And, despite having an 0-2 postseason record while with the Cowboys, he is credited with having rebuilt the foundation of the franchise and having set the course for them to be contenders over the last decade.
After all, it was Parcells who drafted future Hall of Famers DeMarcus Ware and Jason Witten, and who found Tony Romo as an undrafted free agent while changing the culture of the franchise following three straight 5-11 seasons under Dave Campo.
McCarthy will have Parcells-like power in choosing his staff, as well as in free agency and the draft.
Jerry Jones will still be the general manager, along with Stephen Jones as vice president of player personnel and Will McCray running the pro and college scouting department. However, with McCarthy now in the mix, the personnel decisions will be made collectively.
And with McCarthy bringing in his own coaches and installing new systems on offense and defense, the Cowboys will focus on selecting the players who fit his scheme.
“I’m excited about what’s in place here with the personnel department from how it’s structured,” McCarthy said. “I think the job that’s been done to this point, the personnel, is very impressive. That was a big attraction for me. I’m excited as a head coach to probably have more input than I’ve had in the past. You know, the ‘we decisions’ was stated over and over again in personnel. So, I think that’s all you can ask for as a coach.”
This story was originally published January 10, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
