Schefter: ‘Unsettled’ Cowboys Could Fire Mike McCarthy.
This is a “never-say-never” business, as we have repeatedly said in our extensive coverage of the NFL. Indeed, it has
consistently held true, even for the Dallas Cowboys, whose owner Jerry Jones has among the slowest firing speeds in the league
when it comes to head coaches. And sure, that has always applied to the head coaches’ job security at the same time. Two well-
established truths go hand in hand: Mike McCarthy has, in Jones’ words, “done an outstanding job” leading the Dallas team to
its third consecutive winning season and a postseason spot, and he is expected to lead the team to new heights.
If at some point, he fails to do that? Hey, the head coach isn’t the Pope or a Supreme Court Judge; eventually, before you die,
you leave. Does that, however, mean the matter of McCarthy’s job security is “unsettled”? It does, according to “some people” who have spoken to ESPN insider Adam Schefter.
According to Schefter: “There continues to be a feeling from people around the league, and even some within the Cowboys
organization, that coach Mike McCarthy will be measured by how Dallas’ final game goes.” Additionally, “some people” are
reportedly whispering to Schefter, “McCarthy would have a great chance to keep his job if the Cowboys perform well in the
postseason.” Nevertheless, some believe that Dallas may undergo change if they falter and finish the season with a humiliating loss, as has occurred in each of the previous two years.”
We’re not arguing against the validity of the idea of McCarthy facing demands of excellence. Again, that is old news. We have
noted often the scenarios that could cause Jones to sever ties here. “Lose 50-0 in the Wild Card round and let’s revisit this!” is
an exaggerated example of how we’ve framed it. But what we cannot do is cite an actual source from here inside The Star who
will actually say that – in part because no actual source can know what the exact bar of expectation will be, or exactly how “failure” will be measured.
What if the Cowboys get to the Super Bowl and lose 50-0? In Schefter’s words, wouldn’t that “end the season with an embarrassing loss?” McCarthy would – to ESPN’s “some people” – in that scenario get fired? How can they know that?
ESPN can’t know that, either, and yet this weekend is up to its elbows in playing the “Some People Say” Game, with another story regarding the idea of personnel boss Will McClay leaving Dallas.
Right now, these stories are less about “sources” and more about being able to claim, “I told you so,” if a significant shift in the
Cowboys’ hierarchy does take place. If McCarthy continues, ESPN can use this CYA tactic to say that it never published
anything different. And should he be fired? It can be argued that ESPN “reported” it first. And how are you, the NFL fan, able to
distinguish between a “report” and a “rumor”? Instead of using the hazy and imprecise phrase “some people,” Adam Schefter would have said if he had “sources.”
Leave a Reply