Dallas Cowboys’ Mike McCarthy is a goner, likely later than sooner. Will Dak get any blame? | Opinion
Mike McCarthy has been fired in season before, and his current boss has repeatedly said it will not happen on his watch.
That’s as of Nov. 13, 2024. Considering the way this Dallas Cowboys season is going, don’t be be surprised when team owner Jerry Jones exercises his “right to change my mind.”
Dumping McCarthy now, while he is in the final year of his contract, in favor an interim head coach has minimal upside. There are precious few examples in the NFL of a head coach being fired in season and it having a dramatic effect on a team in the same year. Jerry canned Wade Phillips in the middle of the 2010 season, and while the team improved under Jason Garrett they finished under .500.
If Jerry thought his next head coach was already on staff, like he knew with Garrett in ‘10, firing McCarthy now would be justified. No such candidates exist on McCarthy’s staff.
The widely agreed assumption is that McCarthy has eight games remaining to serve as head coach of the Cowboys, and both he and his staff will be elsewhere next season.
There does remain the chance, however increasingly small, that McCarthy signs an extension to return. Other than the fact he was handed a weak roster, he has one “out” clause. A clause that should work in his favor, but ultimately may have no effect.
For the second time in his five-year tenure as the Cowboys’ head coach, he will have coached more than half of the season without his starting quarterback. No head coach looks good when his starting quarterback, a legit one, is gone for an extended period. Ask Bill Belichick about his resume without Tom Brady.
But, upon further inspection, McCarthy’s “But here’s what happened” clause may not be as helpful as these developments typically are for a head coach. This one is actually more damning towards the GM than the coach.
* From 2016 to 2019, all when Garrett was the head coach, Prescott started all 51 games. This includes three postseason games, and the team was 41-26 with two division titles.
* McCarthy was hired in 2020, and by the end of this season, his starting QB will have started in 58 of a possible 84 games, including the playoffs. That’s a visibly striking statistic, one that suggests McCarthy’s record should be wet garbage.
And here is McCarthy’s “problem.” Without Dak, the team is 9-9. In the coming weeks that record will drop well below .500, but the way the Cowboys have handled life without their starting quarterback has served both the head coach, and the team, well.
In 2020, Dak suffered a season-ending ankle injury in Week 5 against the New York Giants. The Cowboys won that game, with TCU alum Andy Dalton in relief, and the team improved to 2-3.
Without Dak as the starter, the team dropped four consecutive games and finished 6-10. One small detail to that season, the Cowboys won three straight games near the end of the season and actually had something on the line in the finale at New York, but lost by four points.
Even with Dak as its quarterback, the ‘20 team had issues, namely a defense that allowed the most points and touchdowns in franchise history; it led to the dismissal of defensive coordinator Mike Nolan.
In ‘21, Dak suffered a calf strain in a Week 6 win at New England which forced him to miss the following game. In relief, Cooper Rush led the Cowboys to an upset win at Minnesota.
In ‘22, Dak missed Weeks 2 - 6, but the Cowboys finished 4-1 with Rush as the starting quarterback. In Rush’s final start of that stretch, at Philadelphia on Oct. 16, they trailed 20-3 before rallying to cut the deficit to three in the fourth quarter before losing by nine.
In ‘23, Dak started all 17 games and was a finalist for the NFL’s MVP award.
Here in ‘24, it all feels so much different.
Even with Dak starting, the team was 3-5. The departures of starters, coaches and contributors has this team in a vulnerable spot, and asking the quarterback to be something he is not, even if the contract says he should.
That’s now how this works.
Rush’s start against the Eagles on Sunday is no “final straw” on McCarthy but merely another piece of evidence to illustrate a weak roster. This is the QB who was 5-1 in relief of Dak in ‘21 and ‘22, and now looks a passer who has no business making it to Week 3 of the preseason.
McCarthy’s record with the Cowboys without his starting quarterback has illustrated a job well done; it will not have any impact on whether he defies the odds and is given an extension after the season is over.
This one is up to the GM, who happens to be the owner, who knows he will need something to sell to a fan base that wants him fired but will never be granted that wish.
This story was originally published November 13, 2024 at 11:15 AM.
