Mike McCarthy entered this season as a lame-duck coach for the Dallas Cowboys. Most anticipated his keep would rely upon postseason success.
Then, star quarterback Dak Prescott sustained a season-ending hamstring damage in a 27-21 loss to the Falcons on Nov. 3. That was within the midst of what grew to become a five-game dropping streak, and there have been questions on whether or not McCarthy could be a midseason firing by proprietor Jerry Jones. In any case, the playoff probabilities grew to become slimmer and slimmer every week and formally got here to an finish about 4 hours earlier than the Cowboys hosted the Buccaneers on Sunday evening.
However, because the NFL reminds us repeatedly, anticipate the sudden. McCarthy is way from a useless man strolling seven weeks later. Regardless of the postseason probabilities coming to an finish, McCarthy continues to make a powerful case to return to the Cowboys following a 26-24 victory over the Bucs. It is a workforce that has now gained 4 of its final 5 video games with hope the momentum carries into 2025.
Jones praised McCarthy in his postgame information convention afterward.
“Mike McCarthy, he simply gained’t allow them to not suppose they’re taking part in for a Tremendous Bowl on the market,” Jones mentioned. “He gained’t allow them to do it. Pleased with that. Pleased with the coach.”
However Jones stopped wanting saying McCarthy is returning subsequent season.
“Simply so we’re clear, all I can say is what good of a job he’s doing,” Jones mentioned. “I don’t have ideas that I might share as to something about what we do with our days after we’re by means of taking part in this 12 months. I don’t have something I might share about that.”
With that being mentioned, McCarthy can have a say in his personal future, on condition that he’ll be hitting the free agent market too. As FOX analyst and Corridor of Famer Troy Aikman mentioned a number of weeks in the past on 105.3 The Fan about McCarthy returning to the Cowboys, “In need of Invoice Belichick, I don’t know who you’re going to usher in that has a greater resume.”
That rings true for different coach-needy groups too.
With Belichick headed to the school ranks, how do different organizations within the teaching market view McCarthy? The Bears, as an example, could possibly be an intriguing group for each side. For the Bears, a workforce that hasn’t made the playoffs in 4 years, McCarthy would carry a observe file of success. For McCarthy, the Bears have one of many promising younger quarterbacks in Caleb Williams.
Or possibly the Jets could possibly be inquisitive about McCarthy. That is a corporation that hasn’t made the postseason since 2010 and will herald a Tremendous Bowl-winning coach who has a profession file of 174-110-2.
Nonetheless, the Cowboys would seemingly have the within observe with McCarthy’s familiarity with the group and roster. Given the variety of accidents the Cowboys confronted this season, it stays a workforce that many anticipate can contend now.
As linebacker Micah Parsons mentioned after the sport, “It’s essential to undergo issues. Every thing can’t be sunshine and rainbows. I’m seeking to end this 12 months robust and show to those guys that we will recover from something.”
McCarthy deserves credit score for constructing that kind of mindset and tradition inside the locker room. And, at this level, he looks like the most suitable choice for the Cowboys transferring ahead.
