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 can be a midseason firing by proprietor Jerry Jones. In spite of everything, the playoff possibilities 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 much from a useless man strolling seven weeks later. Regardless of the postseason possibilities coming to an finish, McCarthy continues to make a powerful case to return to the Cowboys following a 26-24 victory over the Bucs. This can be a group 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 stated. “He gained’t allow them to do it. Happy with that. Happy 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 stated. “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 yr. I don’t have something I might share about that.”
With that being stated, McCarthy may have a say in his personal future, provided that he’ll be hitting the free agent market too. As FOX analyst and Corridor of Famer Troy Aikman stated just a few weeks in the past on 105.3 The Fan about McCarthy returning to the Cowboys, “Wanting Invoice Belichick, I don’t know who you’re going to herald 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 illustration, could possibly be an intriguing group for either side. For the Bears, a group that hasn’t made the playoffs in 4 years, McCarthy would carry a monitor file of success. For McCarthy, the Bears have one of many promising younger quarterbacks in Caleb Williams.
Or possibly the Jets could possibly be fascinated 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 monitor with McCarthy’s familiarity with the group and roster. Given the variety of accidents the Cowboys confronted this season, it stays a group that many anticipate can contend now.
As linebacker Micah Parsons stated after the sport, “You have to undergo issues. The whole lot can’t be sunshine and rainbows. I’m seeking to end this yr robust and show to those guys that we are able to 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 as if the best choice for the Cowboys shifting ahead.
