The Dallas Cowboys are heading home after they lost 19-12 to the San Francisco 49ers in the Divisional Round of the playoffs. A long offseason awaits the franchise, and fans are seemingly already demanding answers with the wound of the team’s latest playoff shortcoming still fresh as the morning dew.
The most burning topic is the future of Mike McCarthy, who’s under scrutiny from the media after the Cowboys’ disaster final drive trailing by a touchdown.
The decision to punt with 2:11 left in regulation was questionable, too. As was the execution, as Dallas wasted valuable seconds getting the punt team on the field and snapping the ball before the two-minute warning.
McCarthy absolutely deserves to face the music after Sunday’s loss, but that doesn’t mean it should cost him his job.
Jerry Jones has already stated McCarthy’s job is safe. We’ll see if that holds true. In the meantime, here are a few reasons why the Cowboys would be insane to fire McCarthy.
3 reasons Cowboys shouldn’t fire Mike McCarthy
3. McCarthy’s proven he can win without Dak Prescott
This alone doesn’t prove McCarthy shouldn’t be canned, but it undoubtedly resonates with Jerry Jones and the rest of Dallas’ front office. How many head coaches in the league would put together a winning record — let alone tread water and keep pace in their division — without their franchise QB injured?
Not many. McCarthy is 7-7 in 14 games without Dak Prescott. In 2022 alone, the Cowboys were an impossible 4-1 with Prescott sidelined. For what it’s worth, Jason Garrett was 1-13 without Prescott or Tony Romo in his Dallas career.
To all the Dak haters, that isn’t an indictment on the quarterback. Cooper Rush’s limitations were on display throughout his run as the starter. Rather, it’s a testament to McCarthy’s ability as a coach.
Again, this alone shouldn’t save McCarthy’s bacon, but it should signal to the Jones family that this team will fight tooth and nail for their coach, even if their $40 million QB isn’t under center. That speaks volumes, whether you want to admit it or not.
2. McCarthy has built a winning culture
Say what you will about Dallas failing to make it to the NFC Championship Game for another season, but McCarthy has done what very few recent Cowboys coaches have: cultivate a winning culture and bring consistency to the franchise.
Jason Garrett’s Cowboys teams were notorious for being inconsistent. Over Garrett’s 10-year tenure in Dallas (still can’t believe it was that long), Dallas finished .500 or worse five times, and made the playoffs three times. They won 10 or more games thrice, and rattled off consecutive winning seasons once (three straight years spanning 2016-2018).
If we call 2020 a wash due to Dak Prescott’s season-ending ankle injury, McCarthy has back-to-back 12-win seasons as Cowboys coach. A 24-10 record is far better than any two-year run Garrett had in Dallas, and it took McCarthy three years to make it happen.
McCarthy isn’t perfect, and he might not be “the guy” to lead the Cowboys to the promised land, but don’t pretend like this organization didn’t suffer through 25 years of coming up short in the biggest moments before he arrived. He’s done really good work over his three years in Arlington. Don’t lose sight of that.
1. No realistic upgrade available
To the “fire Mike McCarthy” crowd, who exactly do you want to replace him? By our estimation, Sean Payton could take the Panthers or Broncos job, or simply stay at FOX another year and wait for a more attractive job to open up.
How big of an upgrade, if at all, is Payton over McCarthy? Is it so significant that the Cowboys should undo all the good work McCarthy’s accomplished over his three years? The numbers certainly aren’t indicative of that.
At the end of the day, both Payton and Mike McCarthy won one Super Bowl, and win well over 60% of the games they coach. Overall, McCarthy is 11-10 in the playoffs, while Payton is 9-8. We’re talking the finest of margins, people.
Don’t let your clamoring for a fresh face distract you from the fact that there isn’t much that separates these coaches. McCarthy already has a pulse of the locker room and deserves at least one more season to get over the hump.
Not to mention the fact Payton will cost at least a first-round pick. The Cowboys cannot afford to be giving those away.
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