Dallas Cowboys make right call in keeping Mike McCarthy

Not to take credit, but we wrote this week that firing Mike McCarthy because he can’t get the team over the hump would be the wrong move for the Dallas Cowboys. Jerry Jones must have been logging in to check our recommendation.

Sure enough, word broke Wednesday night that the Cowboys’ owner has decided to stick with McCarthy as head coach for a year five, the final year of his contract. McCarthy’s led Dallas to a 12-5 record three years in a row, but with only one playoff victory to show for it. For a lot of folks, “fire the coach” is the default answer, without nuance, under such circumstances.

It’s a tough spot, to be sure. Dallas has one of the most talented rosters in the NFL, yet hasn’t risen to the occasion in January for a quarter century now. I’d lean toward giving a guy with a 36-15 record over three years the benefit of the doubt. Easier, in my mind, to change coaches if a clear upgrade is out there.

Yet, some of the names proffered up aren’t necessarily that.

Mike Vrabel? His teams are 13-21 the past two years. Only once has he won 12 games — which McCarthy has shown he can do regularly — and only once has he made a conference championship game.

Bill Belichick? There seems to be substance to the argument that he’s not so shrewd without Tom Brady. Post-the game’s greatest quarterback, Belichick is 29-38 with one playoff appearance in four seasons and no playoff wins.

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Jim Harbaugh’s a hot name right now, having just led Michigan to the championship of the College Football Playoff. How odd that his name should be brought up as a possible solution for the Cowboys. This is the same Jim Harbaugh who, when hired in 2015, inherited a three-game losing…


Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/dallas-cowboys-call-keeping-mike-103044896.html

Author : Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

Publish date : 2024-01-19 10:30:44

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