Mike McCarthy is Jason Garrett, just without Aaron Rodgers
The Dallas Cowboys have their new head coach, and he’s Jason Garrett without the red hair and with Aaron Rodgers as his resume builder.
Shortly after officially announcing that Garrett will not be retained as the head coach, the Dallas Cowboys came to an agreement with his successor, Mike McCarthy.
McCarthy is a solid, slightly dull, NFL head coach with a long resume, and a Super Bowl win. In 13 years with the Packers, he had only three losing seasons and posted a .618 winning percentage.
But hiring Mike McCarthy is a good decision. There will be no learning curve with McCarthy, which clearly was the goal of Jerry and Stephen Jones.
The difference between Mike McCarthy and Jason Garrett is this: the former had Brett Favre in good years, and Aaron Rodgers through the entire prime of his career.
Mike McCarthy’s two quarterbacks in his entire span in Green Bay are Hall of Famers. McCarthy won one Super Bowl with them. That is both an achievement and a disappointment.
Favre and Rodgers are what separates Mike McCarthy from Jason Garrett, and virtually nothing else. Garrett had good NFL quarterbacks, whereas McCarthy had two of the best who ever played.
Both McCarthy and Garrett are smart, sound, respected pro football coaches. Not until the latter half of the 2018 season, when the Packers were headed towards their second consecutive losing record, did McCarthy finally lose his team, and specifically his quarterback, and he was fired.
McCarthy is not unlike most NFL coaches in that the vast majority of them are pretty good at what they do, and defined by the talent they have, and a handful of bounces, measurements, and calls that are beyond their control.
He’s not great. He’s not terrible. He’s fine.
If you were bored by a Jason Garrett press conference, Mike McCarthy is melatonin.
McCarthy’s problem is that he inherits a team that can be competitive for the playoffs, and a roster that is slightly overrated. He inherits a team that will enter the good year of their good-bad cycle that they have followed since 2014.
McCarthy inherits what should be a good offense. Or an offense that can look so good one week, and inept the next.
McCarthy inherits a defense that lacks talent, and play makers. He needs a defensive tackle who can create a play, or collapse a pocket. He has issues at linebacker, and at safety.
Mike McCarthy also has done enough in the NFL that Jerry Jones will respect his voice, and desires. Given the length of time both have been in the NFL, they know each other and what the other is about.
Jerry likes coaches, and he listens to coaches he respects.
The Cowboys will look like a team coached by Mike McCarthy, which won’t be that much different than they were under Jason Garrett.
The difference is McCarthy won’t have any combination of Brett Favre or Aaron Rodgers this time.
This story was originally published January 6, 2020 at 1:14 PM.
