Cowboys’ Jayron Kearse responds to Mike McCarthy criticism

Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy’s name has been in the news a lot lately. In mid-January, it was about his in-game decisions for the playoff game. After that, a lot of the buzz surrounding his name was no fault of his own. Sean Payton’s retirement put his job in question. Jerry Jones and the front office were going back and forth on McCarthy’s future and using him as leverage to keep Dan Quinn with the team. During it all, McCarthy remained silent.

Last week, McCarthy was finally given a chance to respond on the Rich Eisen Show. The head coach admitted he’d never experienced situations like these from within an organization he was working for, but remained positive about his relationship with Jones and his future with the Cowboys.

On Tuesday morning, one of his players spoke to 105.3 The Fan. Safety Jayron Kearse was interviewed by the local radio station. He discussed his desire to keep improving, his excitement that Quinn was staying in Dallas, and spoke about the criticism his head coach was facing.

Kearse is a fan of the offensive-minded head coach. The safety said that McCarthy has been a great coach and he has really enjoyed playing for him. Kearse also said he “doesn’t believe the things that went on this year were [McCarthy’s] fault.”

Cowboys safety Jayron Kearse defends head coach Mike McCarthy amidst recent criticism

Kearse said that while there is something to be said for things like clock management, he believes the players are the ones who are responsible. The players are the ones playing the game and causing the penalties, not McCarthy.

The safety believes the players are the ones who did not play winning football. They started the game against the 49ers with a penalty and kept going from there. Kearse says that what the guys do on the field should not be seen as a reflection of McCarthy, the other coaches, or the front office.

Whether you agree with the fourth-year safety or not, it is definitely refreshing to hear a player not point the finger at the refs or anyone besides themselves. It’s also nice to see that someone in the Cowboys organization has McCarthy’s back since the Jones family is clearly willing to toss his name around like it doesn’t mean anything. The more in sync this group can be, the better their chances are of going further next year.