3 strengths and 2 weaknesses of Mike McCarthy heading into 2023

Mike McCarthy may not be the most beloved head coach in the NFL, but the Dallas Cowboys have a really solid, experienced head coach at the helm of one of the best rosters in the league. This Cowboys team may have been too quiet in January the last couple of years for everyone's liking, but the question right now is whether or not McCarthy is the reason for it.

Jerry Jones doesn't seem to think so. The Cowboys may have had the opportunity to hire someone like Sean Payton this past offseason if they would have chosen to fire McCarthy. Heck, they probably would have been the best job available and could have hired anyone they wanted. But Jerry Jones chose to bring McCarthy back into the fold.

The question is -- why? What makes McCarthy the option over the other potential candidates? Why not just promote Dan Quinn to the head coach position? Is McCarthy really going to be the first head coach in NFL history to lead two franchises to a Super Bowl win? Let's take a look at what McCarthy offers, both the good and the bad.

3 strengths and 2 weaknesses of Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy

Strength: He's been to the mountaintop

I don't think you can hold it against McCarthy that he's "only" won one Super Bowl. You hear this a lot from fans of the Cowboys or just football fans (and analysts) in general, where they almost hold it against a coach who has won a Super Bowl because it was "only once".

There are not many active NFL head coaches that have won a Super Bowl as a head coach. To get to that point as a team takes more than just any one individual player. It takes a strong leader. You aren't often going to see bad coaches dragged to a Super Bowl win. People like to hold it against McCarthy that he hasn't won a Super Bowl in a long time, and while that may be factually true, the fact that he's been to this mountaintop before is undoubtedly a huge strength in his favor.