The Dallas Cowboys coaching search officially lasted no longer than 24 hours after Fox Sports reported Mike McCarthy would be their next head coach.
Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer announced the team officially informed former coach Jason Garrett he would not be returning next season Friday afternoon. Not even one day later, McCarthy was reported to have signed a five year deal to take the keys from Garrett.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, McCarthy stayed at Jerry Jones’ house Saturday night after the Cowboys interviewed two coaches overall, McCarthy and former Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis. ESPN also reported Jones wanted a proven head coach with NFL coaching experience.
In my opinion, McCarthy was the perfect hire moving forward for the Cowboys. He is a proven coach in the National Football League with an experienced track record. He currently holds a 125-77-2 record as a head coach. Also, McCarthy earned nine playoff appearances in his thirteen year tenure with one Super Bowl in 2011 which took place in Dallas.
Despite the negative feedback because of his public exit of being “unadaptable” in Green Bay, McCarthy is a QB guru who can continue to place his expertise on Dak Prescott. Furthermore, McCarthy has been studying film for the past year to adapt to the trends of the game. His first test will be to adapt to a change in his style. Despite having the number one offense in the NFL last season, the Cowboys feathered away from the run game too much. McCarthy will have to adapt from his heavy drop back style he had with Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay to more of a balanced offense in Dallas. The Cowboys must give Ezekiel Elliott more consistent of a workload in order to be successful. We saw a glimpse of this last season when Dallas beat the Rams 44-21. Elliott carried the ball 24 times for 117 yards and two scores. This was the only time in the last five games Elliott carried the ball more than 20 times. Elliott averaged 18.8 carries per game last season.
McCarthy has leadership qualities that will translate well for Dallas. He is a coach that has the capacity to make an executive decision when needed. He brings Super Bowl experience into Dallas which means the moment will never grow too big despite the primetime nature of “Jerry’s World.” However, McCarthy is more reserved allowing his personality not to clash with the alpha personality of owner Jerry Jones. This balance will allow McCarthy to have a long tenure. A big brand type of coach would conflict with Jones preventing a long stay in Dallas.
McCarthy has winning experience with a talented roster to lead moving forward. Only time will tell if the Dallas Cowboys can win another Super Bowl.
