Mike McCarthy’s contract as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys expired Tuesday after a lackluster 7-10 season. On the surface, it checks out; McCarthy had struggled to keep pace with the rest of the league, and struggled mightily in the playoffs. A deeper examination reveals it’s apparent that the Cowboys are continuing to dig their own grave.
Mike McCarthy has a 49-35 record in five seasons with Dallas. Quarterback Dak Prescott has been in the MVP race multiple times under his tenure. “America’s Team” commonly held a top ten offense.
The problem is Jerry Jones wants another ring, and any year is “their year”, according to fans. McCarthy’s 1-3 playoff record wasn’t enough to get him an extension.
The Cowboys made a terrible mistake. McCarthy wasn’t amazing, but this will set the team back for years. Here’s why Dallas is in trouble, how they can get out of it, and where McCarthy could go.
The Cowboys are $285k over the cap, as of January 13. In the grand scheme of an NFL franchise, that’s pennies on the dollar, but big extensions are due for Dallas’s top players. This year doesn’t see big stars needing another contract, but it still has some glue guys that need a home, like Kavontae Turpin, Cooper Rush, and Eric Kendricks.
Next year, however, they are projected to be $84 million under the cap, but they’ll use much of that to extend Micah Parsons, Tyler Smith, Daron Bland, and Jake Ferguson, if they even want to stay with the team. All the while, they still are paying for Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and Zack Martin at a premium.
Jones is generally a good owner. He’s active with the press about his team, for better or worse, and has a strong will to do what it takes to win. Unfortunately for him, he’s not a good general manager. From mishandling Troy Aikman’s departure, to his “all in” offseason goof, he shouldn’t be the one making personnel decisions. As long as he is the owner, he will be the GM, so his reign is increasingly becoming a double-edged sword
This is where McCarthy comes in. He has certainly had his struggles, but the guy knows how to develop his players. He took a raw Aaron Rodgers and helped him become one of the greats. He turned back the clock for an underachieving Cowboys offense and brought them to multiple playoffs trips. Because of the cap constraints, these next few drafts are critical for Dallas, and a guy like McCarthy would’ve helped dramatically to develop those prospects.
The Cowboys are still far from out of the water. Here are some ways they can return to their elite form of years past.
This coaching carousel is a special one; there are tons of big names circulating around the NFL, but the Cowboys are late to the party. To bring in top talent, they’ll have to open the checkbook. Deion Sanders and Jason Witten are the rumored frontrunners, and both sound like a beautifully terrible idea. The best choice would be Todd Monkien, because his offensive success in Baltimore can be replicated in Dallas with one prospect.
Dallas has to do whatever it takes to get Jeanty on their squad. They desperately need a running back, and Jeanty is the one that can bring a new presence to this offense. Behind a good offensive line, with Prescott and Lamb on the same side, we could see a rebrand of the Triplets.
Malik Hooker and Donovan Wilson are decent starters, but didn’t do enough this past year. If Nick Emmanwori falls to Dallas, he would be an outstanding pickup. As for the wideouts, Lamb is assisted by Brandin Cooks and Jalen Tolbert. Xavier Restropo would be an awesome acquisition for that position.
The frontrunners right now are Chicago and New Orleans. Either way, both teams have promising offenses, and McCarthy would be an improvement. Chicago has a more future-oriented roster, but New Orleans doesn’t have terrible ownership. Whatever McCarthy values more will be reflected in where he goes.
Read More NFL News From Stadium Rant Here: NFL News
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to our newsletter here. Check out Stadium Rant Original shows on our Youtube channel and subscribe! Give our socials Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok a follow for more great content!
