NFL insider just dumped ice-cold water on Bill Belichick replacing Mike McCarthy
By Jerry Trotta
What exactly is there to be excited about with the Dallas Cowboys? Not only did they hardly spend a nickel in free agency, but Mike McCarthy is entering a lame-duck year as head coach. Jerry Jones has set McCarthy up for failure with his lack of roster churning, so it's hard to envision McCarthy returning in 2025.
That could lend some excitement to Cowboys fans, but it depends on whom Dallas targets as McCarthy's replacement.
Rising offensive coordinators Ben Johnson (Lions), Bobby Slowik (Texans) and Frank Smith (Dolphins) are potential options. Former Titans head coach Mike Vrabel will be available and will likely have no shortage of suitors.
However, the name most prominently linked to the Cowboys while McCarthy's job status was in question was Bill Belichick. Numerous insiders have pointed to Belichick as a potential McCarthy replacement given his relationship with Jerry Jones and that Dallas is a win-now team.
Are we sure Belichick and the Cowboys are a seamless fit, though? Based on the latest intel from Yahoo Sports insider Jori Epstein, it sounds more like a pipe dream than anything that Dallas lands Belichick.
Cowboys rumors: Bill Belichick might not even want to replace Mike McCarthy
Here's what one of Epstein's sources said of Belichick.
"Bill Belichick would walk into our facilities, see all of the infrastructure around it, basically see the country club mentality, the Dr. Pepper keurig headquarters that overlooks the practice field and be like 'I can't coach here.' And to me, that is the root of the problem with all of this."
Many folks have pointed to Belichick wanting too much influence on personnel decisions as the chief reason he and the Cowboys wouldn't work. Belichick took two interviews with the Falcons this hiring cycle. Owner Arthur Blank revealed Belichick's obsession with power structure was overblown and that he was eager to work in parallel with Atlanta's infrastructure.
The main issue could boil down to Jerry Jones' zoo-like configuration. Belichick's infrastructure during his reign in New England was the complete opposite. Owner Robert Kraft seldom speaks to the media. Jones' has a weekly radio hit on a Dallas radio station. The Patriots didn't have stadium tours taking place during practices and weightlifting sessions.
Of course, the Cowboys are an outlier in that regard. Former tight end Dalton Schultz laid that out comparing Dallas' culture to that of the Texans. Most organizations in the NFL operate with a football-first mindset. Why would a football purist like Belichick subject himself to all of Dallas' outside distractions?
Yes, the Cowboys may offer Belichick the quickest path to breaking Don Shula's all-time wins record and a chance to compete for a seventh Super Bowl ring, but he might simply prefer a more buttoned-up franchise to end his historic coaching career.
Who could blame him?