NFC East head coaches ranked from worst to best in 2023
- Ron Rivera facing a make-or-break year
- Brian Daboll on the rise
- Has Mike McCarthy become underrated?
2. Mike McCarthy
Many Dallas Cowboys fans always ask "what does McCarthy really do?" Well now the answer is call plays. While it has been a while since McCarthy has called plays on offense, that is the move the team is going with in 2023. Brian Schottenheimer might be replacing Kellen Moore, but this offense now runs through McCarthy.
While his victory in Super Bowl XLV was over a decade ago, McCarthy should still be considered a good coach in the NFL. The Cowboys made the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time since the 2006 and 2007 seasons. Considering Jason Garrett nor Wade Phillips did that, McCarthy deserves credit for turning things around after the 2020 season.
The expectations are high every year in Dallas and that is hard for a coach to handle, especially when Jerry Jones is the boss. McCarthy might not be the most vocal coach in the league, but his ability to deal with adversity shined through this past season.
With no Dak Prescott for several weeks after an embarrassing opening night loss to the Buccaneers, McCarthy rallied the troops around backup Cooper Rush and a dominant defense. That kept the Cowboys fighting for first place in the NFC East until Prescott returned. Not many coaches know how to keep the ship on course when the starting quarterback goes down. McCarthy did not receive a lot of credit for his coaching last year and deserved more.
Coming off a season where the team won a playoff game for the first time since 2018, obviously anything less would be a major disappointment. McCarthy has the keys to the car for this offense and he will try his hand at continuing to develop Prescott. While there is uncertainty, McCarthy should still be considered high for this ranking.