Mike McCarthy announced his resignation.
Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy just declared his departure today, January 30, 2024
For football fans who were hoping to see Bill Belichick on the Dallas sidelines next season, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones delivered some unfavorable news.
Jones declared on Wednesday that, despite yet another dismal postseason loss, head coach Mike McCarthy will not be sacked.
The football world was afluttering with rumors that McCarthy would be fired and replaced by Belichick after Dallas’ wildcard playoff loss to Green Bay.
Rather, McCarthy will have another opportunity to bring the Cowboys’ nearly three-decade postseason drought to an end. This decision put an end to three days of feverish conjecture over the coach’s future.
McCarthy, according to Jones, will return for a fifth season following the shocking 48-32 defeat to Green Bay.
Since the 14-team system was implemented in 2020, the Cowboys became the first club ranked second to lose to the final team to qualify. In the last two weeks, Dallas dominated the NFC East and earned the opportunity to host at least two postseason games.
McCarthy’s club, on the other hand, is the first after three straight 12-win postseason seasons to miss out on a conference title game.
“It is highly advantageous to sustain the team’s advancement with Mike leading us as our head coach,” Jones stated in a statement that alluded to the disappointment of the playoff defeat multiple times. “We will commit ourselves, in collaboration with Mike, to converting his record of the highest regular-season winning percentage of any head coach in Cowboys history into achieving our postseason objectives.”
After parting company with the Patriots earlier this season, Belichick became a free agent for the first time in his career. The Atlanta Falcons have reportedly interviewed him and believe he is the “obvious favorite” for the position.
However, while the Cowboys trailed Green Bay, both NFL reporters and social media speculated that Belichick may take over as coach after McCarthy’s inevitable firing. McCarthy will return to the Cowboys instead.
McCarthy was brought on board to help Dallas get past the divisional stage for the first time since the legendary team’s five Super Bowl victories in 1995.
In his more than twelve seasons as the Packers’ coach, the sixty-year-old coach made it to the NFC championship game three more times and won a Super Bowl with Green Bay thirteen years ago.
In the middle of Green Bay’s second straight losing season in 2018, McCarthy was let go. Before Jones hired him in 2019, he had retired from football. His record with Dallas is 42-25 and overall 167-102-2.
McCarthy’s contract is expiring in one year. An extension was not mentioned in Jones’ statement.
With one year remaining on his $160 million, four-year contract, quarterback Dak Prescott struggled in the first half, leading Dallas to a 27-0 deficit. In quarterback Jordan Love’s postseason debut, the Packers were never slowed by a top-five defensive squad.
Under McCarthy, Dallas fell to 1-3 in the playoffs and gave up the most points in the team’s postseason history. Prescott’s postseason record is 2–5.
“We’re going to begin the process of reviewing and making decisions about everything that affects our roster and squad,” Jones stated. “Although at this time we won’t be discussing individual players, extensions, or free agents, it merits our full attention and will be given.”
The Cowboys have lost two of their three postseason games under McCarthy at home, where they had won 16 straight regular-season games prior to the Green Bay setback.
On both occasions during wild-card weekend, Dallas was the only club to drop a game at home. At AT&T Stadium, San Francisco defeated the Cowboys to conclude their 2021 campaign.
McCarthy was aided by the fact that Prescott, who led the NFL with 36 touchdown passes and completed a career-high 69.5% of his throws, had just concluded his first season as the play-caller.
Throughout the season, Jones expressed nothing but gratitude for his coach and quarterback, and he may be interested in observing how their newfound bond develops.
“Not just Coach McCarthy, but everyone here shares our grief from Sunday. Our athletes. Our mentors. our main reception area. Personally,” Jones remarked. “We examine and assess Coach McCarthy from a comprehensive viewpoint. I wholeheartedly back him as our head coach and his ability to help us achieve our goals, even though we’re all dissatisfied with the outcome on Sunday and our postseason record.”
Dan Quinn, the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator, could leave for a head coaching position. The Dallas defense has been led by the former Atlanta coach for three seasons, but this was possibly the team’s poorest showing since Quinn took over.
