After five seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, Mike McCarthy has been relieved of his duties as head coach. Despite achieving regular season success, McCarthy's tenure was ultimately defined by playoff disappointments and a failure to live up to the lofty expectations of the Cowboys faithful.
Five seasons, 84 regular season games, four playoff games. While his 49-35 regular season record is impressive, his single playoff win in those five seasons certainly is not. Perhaps it’s connected to the utter dysfunction within the operations of the franchise from the top down, but it was time to move on, regardless of the reasons. He was given time and multiple opportunities, but in the end he failed.
McCarthy, perhaps like any head coach the Cowboys have had in recent years or will have in the future, gets unfairly compared with the ancient history of the franchise. This is a franchise that has not reached the NFC Championship Game since the 1995 season and has just five playoff wins in the last 29 years, yet has an expectant owner and fanbase for which anything less than a return to glory is deemed a failure. Every coach who comes through has the disclaimer attached to their parting of ways: “He didn’t do what Jimmy Johnson did.” Former head coach Jimmy Johnson's success came more than 30 years ago. Yet, despite the epic failures in the playoffs, McCarthy had the most regular season success we've seen around here since those glory days of the ‘90s. For the first time since a run from 1991 to 1996, this team had three consecutive seasons of double-digit wins and three consecutive playoff appearances. That’s not nothing, you know? The natural course of a coaching tenure hit its peak last season. Year 2, make the playoffs. Year 3, win a playoff game and advance to the second round. Year 4, win the division, have the 2-seed and be set up for back-to-back home playoff games to lay out a path to advance to a conference title game. But Year 4, which included another successful regular season, ended with, in my opinion, the worst loss in franchise history to the 7 seeded Green Bay Packers in the wild card round of the playoffs last season. That, also, was not nothing. Not just another playoff loss. I would’ve fired McCarthy after that horrendous upset. Sadly, despite the run of success in the regular season for three years, the lasting memories of his tenure will be a team that struggled with penalties and discipline and that failed in its biggest games against the best opponents. And make no mistake, the penalties have long been out of control. The Cowboys led the NFL in penalties over the last five seasons with 570. That’s 14 more than the next team, and it’s just unacceptable. The league average for the past five years was 493. As for failures in their biggest games, let’s take a quick look. In 2021, they had a home playoff game as the third seed and lost to the San Francisco 49ers by a score of 23-17. We may remember that game as being close, but it was one in which they trailed 23-7 entering the fourth quarter, and a game in which they committed 14 penalties. The following season was a step in the right direction with a road playoff win against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in what would be the final game of Brady’s career. But the following week, it was yet another loss to San Francisco. This game was much closer, a 19-12 defeat on the road, but when the offense needed to score with the game on the line, down 16-9, it could only produce a field goal and a punt while the Cowboys still had a chance. That failure led to the debacle of the 2023 playoffs. Hosting seventh-seed Green Bay, which was led by a quarterback in his first-ever playoff game, in a stadium where Dallas had won 16 straight games, the Cowboys found themselves down 27-0 before ever scoring.with McCarthy playing out the final year of his contract, a rarity in the modern NFL, especially for a coach of McCarthy’s stature. Of course, the front office did him no favors with its lack of moves in the offseason, as I detailed here months ago But McCarthy is a coach with a Super Bowl ring. This past season marked his 18th as a head coach
NFL Dallas Cowboys Mike Mccarthy Coaching Change Playoff Failures Penalties
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Former Cowboys coach believes Jerry Jones undecided on Mike McCarthy's fateJason Garrett believes Jerry Jones will make his decision on Mike McCarthy based on how the Dallas Cowboys finish the final three games.
Read more »
Cowboys Coach Mike McCarthy's Future Uncertain After Emotional Win Against BucsDallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy's future with the team is uncertain after an emotional win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The team's owner, Jerry Jones, was spotted giving McCarthy a warm embrace after the game, leading to speculation about a possible contract extension.
Read more »
Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones Praises Coach Mike McCarthy After Upset WinJerry Jones expresses his satisfaction with Mike McCarthy's coaching after the Dallas Cowboys secured a surprising victory against the Buccaneers. Jones highlights the team's strong performance and emotional commitment, praising McCarthy's ability to motivate them despite being eliminated from playoff contention.
Read more »
Jimmy Johnson: Mike McCarthy Should Coach Cowboys in 2025Former Cowboys head coach and Pro Football Hall of Famer Jimmy Johnson expressed his support for Mike McCarthy remaining the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys in 2025. Despite a challenging season plagued by injuries, Johnson praised McCarthy's leadership and the team's resilience.
Read more »
Cowboys Coach Mike McCarthy's Future Uncertain After Another Disappointing SeasonJerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys, expresses confidence in coach Mike McCarthy despite another underwhelming playoff performance. The article analyzes McCarthy's tenure with the Cowboys and highlights the team's struggles to achieve consistent success.
Read more »
Mike McCarthy Confident He Will Remain Cowboys' Head CoachThe Dallas Cowboys concluded their 2024 season with a loss to the Washington Commanders. Although the game held little significance for the team's playoff hopes, it attracted attention due to coach Mike McCarthy's future with the franchise. After the game, McCarthy expressed his strong desire to continue coaching the Cowboys and emphasized his commitment to moving the program forward.
Read more »