Keegan-Michael Key roasts Cowboys’ Mike McCarthy at NFL Honors

The NFL Honors was Thursday night, and it was a fun way to celebrate the best of the best in the league. While some Dallas Cowboys went home without awards they were nominated for, Micah Parsons unanimously won AP Defensive Rookie of the Year and Dan Quinn was awarded AP Assistant Coach of the Year.

Last season, there were no players or audience present for the NFL Honors due to COVID-19, so actor and host Keegan-Michael Key was excited to finally get to do jokes in front of human beings. And he wasted zero time roasting people. Within a minute of the broadcast, Key said “last year’s show was emptier than Urban Meyer’s playbook.” Yikes.

Key was particularly not shy about the Cowboys. Dak Prescott even took part in his intro. Prescott attempted to sing along with Key’s opening number. Key sang “even the refs can’t spoil this tune,” and the Cowboys quarterback replied, “I think it’s still too soon.”

But the biggest Cowboys joke of the night trolled head coach Mike McCarthy. Keep in mind that Jerry Jones, Parsons, and Prescott were all present at this event. Key said that he wanted to congratulate his friend Sean Payton on his retirement. He continued to say, “Sean will now continue his true passion, finding a way to take Mike McCarthy’s job.” I mean… we are all thinking it. The full clip from the show is below.

Keegan Michael-Key roasts Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy at NFL Honors saying Sean Payton is coming for his job

We are only one month into the offseason and the coaching situation in Dallas has already been a rollercoaster. At first, we thought both coordinators would be leaving. Then, we thought Jones might fire McCarthy given his initial refusal to confirm the coach’s future. Then, Sean Payton retires and doesn’t exactly decline a return to coaching. As of now, McCarthy, Quinn, and Kellen Moore are all on board for 2022, but who knows what will happen in the future.

Regardless, this joke had to have been incredibly awkward for Parsons, Jones, and Prescott. So much so, that the show decided to poke fun at how awkward it was by bringing in Peyton Manning and Eli Manning for a fake Manningcast.

The two brothers “break down” the Cowboys joke and Eli says he felt bad for Dak, and then they cut to an angle of Prescott clearly feeling incredibly awkward but trying to be a good sport and play along. Was having him sing in the monologue not embarrassing enough, Key?! Sheesh. The full bit is below. It’s great.

Admittedly, the joke was funny. But poor McCarthy can’t seem to catch a break with people commenting on his job. Just last week, Jones said Quinn would be a great head coaching candidate! But, it’s no secret that being a player or coach on the Cowboys comes with intense limelight. You have to have thick skin and be able to take tons of comments and criticism. Hopefully, Payton is up for that if he does take McCarthy’s job in the future.