A recent trend indicates playoff success for the Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys coaching hire of Mike McCarthy could already prove the Dallas Cowboys will make the playoffs this year

As the old saying goes, those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it. I think that the Dallas Cowboys have done their homework and are moving forward with what recent history has taught them.

Recent trends have shown the importance of some aspects that will show the likelihood of a return to the playoffs for the Dallas Cowboys.

In 2017 there were six new NFL head coaches with two of them in the NFC. Those two NFC coaches were Sean McVay of the Los Angeles Rams and Kyle Shanahan of the San Francisco 49ers.  The Rams went 11-5 that year and lost in the wild-card round while the 49ers went 6-10. obviously that equates to a 50 percent playoff rate.

The Rams were led by second-year quarterback and 2016 first overall draft pick Jared Goff while the 49ers won their last five games behind newly acquired quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. So if you’re following me, having a franchise quarterback in the NFC with an offensive-minded new head coach has been impactful for their franchise.

The San Francisco 49ers were the most recent NFC Super Bowl representatives while the Rams held that accomplishment just a year before that.

Now there were seven new head coaches in 2018 with four of those being hired in the NFC. Of those four, two, Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy and New York Giants head coach Pat Shurmur come with a background from the offense side of the ball. Once again we hit the 50 percent mark with the Bears going 12-4 that year eventually losing in wild-card weekend and the Giants going 5-11.

The Bears had 2017 second overall pick quarterback Mitchell Trubisky while Pat Shurmur had quarterback Eli Manning. Trubisky now has serious competition in Chicago while Shurmur, who is no longer employed by the team, had aging and since retired Manning. I would not call either of those guys at this point in their careers franchise quarterbacks.

2019 had eight new head coaches but only three were hired in the NFC. All three of the NFC coaches hired previously had a background in offense but only Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LeFleur made it to the playoffs. Green Bay went 13-3 but lost in the NFC championship game.

Tampa Bay head coach Bruce Arians went 7-9 but did so with current free agent quarterback Jameis Winston while Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury took his team to a 5-10 record with first overall draft pick quarterback Kyler Murray.

I will note that Kingsbury is the only head coach in this coaching carousel to jump from the college ranks. This 33 percent is less than ideal to make my point but all three of those teams now employ a franchise-caliber quarterback and have a bright future ahead of them.

This brings us to this year and the five new NFL head coaches. Once again, four of those were NFC hires with the Washington Redskins hiring head coach Ron Rivera who is a defensive guru.

New York Giants head coach Joe Judge was a special-teams coach prior to getting his new gig while Carolina Panther’s new head coach Matt Rhule mainly has defensive background although he was the offensive coordinator at Temple.

So if you have been taking notes, if you are an NFC team looking for a new head coach, the recent trend shows us three things.

A background in offense is key as no defensive-minded hire in the last three offseason made the playoffs in their first season. A supposed franchise quarterback with a new hire from the NFL ranks has made the playoffs. The combination of the previous two connections has, at a  minimum, made it to the NFC Championship game in their first three seasons.

This leaves new Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy as the lone offensive-minded coach hire in the NFC this year. I would also categorize quarterback Dak Prescott as a franchise quarterback. This combination will lead the Dallas Cowboys to the playoffs this year with at least an NFC Championship game appearance in the next three seasons.