Dallas Cowboys: Stephen Jones confirms Mike McCarthy will return in 2021
The Dallas Cowboys confirm that Mike McCarthy will return in 2021
After a near-decade under Jason Garrett, the Dallas Cowboys decided to make a change at their head coaching position in January. That after Garrett’s Cowboys would go to the playoffs just three times since his official promotion back in 2011, winning only two games in the postseason.
In Garrett’s place, the Cowboys hired former Super Bowl champion head coach Mike McCarthy. During his 13-year run with the Green Bay Packers, McCarthy helped lead his team to the postseason nine times, notching 10 playoff victories, and bringing home the Lombardi Trophy in 2010.
Yet, McCarthy’s first season in Dallas hasn’t been anything like his storied-run in Green Bay. In fact, the Cowboys currently sit in the basement of their own division with a 4-9 record. And Dallas has a better chance of landing a top-five draft pick in 2021 than making the playoffs in the struggling NFC East.
While there are certainly some changes that need to be made in Big D, the head coach will not be one of them. Here’s what Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones told 105.3 The Fan during an interview on the K&C Masterpiece show Monday about the future of McCarthy in Dallas beyond this season.
"“There will be absolutely no change with coach McCarthy. I am surprised someone would question these unprecedented situations that everybody’s been in … We have the utmost confidence this ship is going to be righted quickly. Mike’s going to be the leader of this group. He’s certainly a great head coach. I think we’re going to see that going forward. He’s accomplished a lot, and he’s going to accomplish a lot more before it’s all said and done.”"
Despite this confirmation, something has to change in Dallas. Particularly on the defensive side of the ball. While it’s true the offensive side has been ravaged by injuries at several key positions, the same excuse can not be used for what is happening defensively.
The Cowboys currently possess the worst scoring defense in the NFL, allowing opposing offenses to score an average of 30.8 points per game. The Dallas defense currently ranks dead last in the league against the run as well, allowing an average of 162.7 rushing yards a contest.
The fact this defensive unit retained many of its players from last season’s squad, where the team ranked ninth in yards allowed (327.0), 11th in rushing defense (103.5), and 11th in scoring defense (20.1), seems to indicate the issues lie more with coaching than the roster.
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While Mike McCarthy’s job as head coach for the Dallas Cowboys is safe, the same can’t be said for his staff. Particularly, defensive coordinator Mike Nolan, who has taken most of the heat for the Cowboys’ dysfunctional defense in 2020. All signs seem to be pointing towards Dallas looking for a new defensive coordinator soon unless this team can begin to change minds in their final three games of this season.