Cowboys EVP claims ‘no better guy’ to coach team than Mike McCarthy

Despite many Dallas Cowboys fans feeling that head coach Mike McCarthy is or should be on the hot seat after a frustrating postseason performance, there is one member of the front office who continually has the head coach’s back. That man is Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones. Despite the fact that owner Jerry Jones essentially dangled McCarthy’s future on a string to reporters in February  amidst rumors that Dan Quinn or Sean Payton could be head coach, Stephen has always remained a supporter of the head coach.

The former Green Bay Packers coach was hired to help Dallas ahead of the 2020 season. In that year, the team went 6-10 and failed to make the playoffs for the second straight year. Last season, the team went 12-5, which marked their best regular-sesaon record since they went 13-3 in 2016. The big improvement gave Cowboys fans hope that this could be the squad to make a solid playoff push.

Those hopes were crushed in a disappointing 23-17 loss to the 49ers in the Wild Card round. After the defeat, everyone was ready to point fingers. Many pointed theirs at McCarthy. They believed the coach should’ve led a more disciplined team given the Cowboys committed a whopping 14 penalties in the game. It wasn’t just that game, though. Sloppy play was a common thread in the latter half of the season.

Despite that all, Stephen Jones remained confident in McCarthy. Back in March, Jones told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that he admired the head coach’s leadership style and had felt the 53-year-old was “the guy” for Dallas. Unlike his father, the EVP never seemed to question or reconsider McCarthy’s future with the franchise. That sentiment remained true in a recent interview with Adam Schein of Mad Dog Sports Radio.

Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones has full faith in head coach Mike McCarthy despite frustrating playoff exit

Jones admitted that this team needed to get over a serious hump in order to get where the organization wants to be. With no championships in 26 years, that hump feels more like Mount Everest. Jones said that the players, McCarthy, and the front office “won’t be at peace until [they] get over the hump.” But unlike the people who say the head coach is close to the chopping block, Jones felt McCarthy was absolutely the person to get this team further in the playoffs. Here’s what Jones had to say in a recent radio interview:

"“Well, we’ve got nothing but the utmost respect for Mike. And as you said, we had a lot of good things happen. … In Jerry and I’s mind, there’s no better guy to do that who’s had as much success in this league as anybody than Mike McCarthy. His track record speaks for itself in Green Bay. I think he took the Packers to either three or four championship games. Obviously won a Super Bowl, you know, really had success in the postseason in Green Bay, and, you know, set us up with an opportunity to do that. We had the ball there twice with less than three or four minutes on the clock to go win the game with one of the best offenses in the league and we didn’t get the job done.”"

The question is whether McCarthy’s past success (he won a Super Bowl 11 years ago with Green Bay) is enough to get a franchise who has long awaited another Lombari Trophy a win. There’s no doubt that there was improvement in 2021. But a good regular-season record doesn’t win Super Bowls. The good news is that we know at least one person in the front office is giving the head coach full support.

Being the head coach of the Cowboys is not an easy job. If you’re not winning, the spotlight can feel bright and heavy. But, you have to imagine that having a head executive in your front office believing in you makes the constant criticism and outside rumors a bit better. Let’s hope that the support helps McCarthy get his job done better.