Cowboys legend was convinced Mike McCarthy would be fired this offseason

For countless Dallas Cowboys fans, the nightmare from the Wild Card Round loss won't go away. This was supposed to be the year the Cowboys pushed for their first Super Bowl title in nearly 30 years - instead another embarrassing postseason exit was recorded.

The list continues to grow of people who are furious that Jerry Jones didn't fire Mike McCarthy and decided to bring him back for at least one more season. Dallas legend Emmitt Smith, who won three Super Bowls with America's Team, made it quite clear he couldn't believe McCarthy wasn't canned:

Cowboys great Emmitt Smith is not happy Mike McCarthy will be back with the team

"Because I'm not the GM (Smith on why McCarthy wasn't fired). To be honest with you, I thought that move would have been made because of how bad it looked. I think our team and organization right now give the appearance of becoming a great organization and being a great team and they sell everybody on that every year - and selling people on it and getting the ratings around it is something that's important, but I think there are things that are more important than all of the hype. "

- Emmitt Smith

Smith really didn't hold back there, as you can tell just how sick to his stomach he was seeing the Packers roll up to AT&T Stadium and dominate the way they did. The first half showing was beyond rough for Dallas, with McCarthy not having his guys ready to play. The performance overall was inexcusable.

As soon as the final whistle arrived, ending the 2023 campaign for the team, rumors flew that McCarthy would be given his walking papers. Instead, Jones said McCarthy will be back, but having him coach on an expiring contract doesn't seem like he has a ton of confidence in McCarthy to get Dallas back in a position to compete for a Lombardi Trophy.

Come next season, McCarthy could end up silencing a lot of his haters, but there just isn't a ton of positive energy surrounding his name. The fact that Smith wanted him out of town speaks volumes to how disappointing the end of the year was. If Dallas struggles early on in 2024, you better believe Smith will be ready to call out the HC once again. Only time will tell if that happens or not.

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